Beyond the Blue Horizon
by ladyanaconda
Summary: Set during Race to the Edge. Hiccup and company find a strange and mysterious dragon in the woods, and when its rider is found, the gang might set out on a new journey beyond the limits they have ever known to find new dragons, new cultures and new enemies, while Goblin and the dragons might have to deal with personal problems on the way.
1. Prologue

**Okay, everyone, this story takes place during Race to The Edge, it's been various years since Goblin and Heather paired up.** **The hatchlings of all the dragons have grown up a bit, though still not enough to reach adulthood. I'll be following after the series' theme, but obviously with a few changes for obvious reasons. I'm sorry if I took so long in making a sequel, but I kinda lost my HTTYD vibe for a time. But now I'm back! Btw, I classified Nibblertooth, Goblin and Quinarth's eldest as a Skradder, an hybrid between a Skrill and a Deadly Nadder, he has certain abilities and traits from both his parents that are unique to him.**

 **I'll be expanding a bit of the HTTYD cultures and dragon species to a new class, the Feathery class, but I'll describe it in later chapters.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

The archipielago had never seen such a storm before.

Thor's fury was unleashed that night, the lighting flashed and the thunder roared like never before as the heavy downpour was cast upon the mortal realm, the waters of the ocean turned into a great monster that moved and swayed boats as if they were mere toys. The winds blew at their top strength, so much that not even a Night Fury or even a Skrill would have been able to fly through such a climate. Under this conditions, all the dragon riders were forbidden from flying. It was considered a suicide to head out in these conditions.

Unfortunately, there was a shadow, unfamiliar to these waters, struggling to fly forward with the blowing wind and the heavy rain.

"We can do it! Just a little longer…!"

Their nearest destination and potential refuge was a small island in the distance, but the storm made it difficult for the creature to see where he was going, and he couldn't see that well in nighttime anyway. Soon enough, a strong current of wind sent the shadow, and a smaller one that fell from his back, into the dark waters below.

"BLUUU…!"

A shriek was heard from the larger shadow, before everything went black…

* * *

 **3 days later…**

* * *

The hurricane had left Dragon's Edge literally on pieces. The defenses were either blown away by the wind, or a flying piece of debris had smashed it into splinters. The cabins were only in slightly better condition, thankfully they still stood but they had considerable damage, and it would take a while to get everything back to normal.

Goblin had never seen such a powerful storm before. It was a pity he couldn't go into it, he had wanted to recharge himself fully, it had been a while ever since there was a good storm around here, but unfortunately the storm had been to much even for _him_ to handle, and considering he was accustomed to flying in such climatic conditions, that was something. Hel, he barely managed to land safely before the storm came at full power!

"Of all the times Thor could have gotten of the wrong side of bed, it had to be precisely at this time?!" Snotlout snapped at particularly no one, trying to cover a large hole in the roof of his cabin with a large metal square, sitting on Hookfang's snout as he did so. The Monstrous Nightmare wasn't very comfortable in having to lift his human all the way there when he could have gone for a ladder.

The twins had to disagree with him, and looked down at Snotlout from their tent, snickering.

"Are you kidding? It was amazing!" Tuffnut said.

"And the look on Fishleg's face was priceless!" Ruffnut snickered.

"Hey, we hadn't had such a storm before!" Fishlegs defended himself, drifting his attention from the pieces of wood and rock on the floor momentarily, but trembled at the reminder of that event. "I wonder if we angered Thor somehow..." Meatlug rubbed her snout against him in an attempt to make him feel better. "I know, it was scary, girl…"

Just then, Heather came out of the clubhouse with a wooden tray filled with fresh drinks. "Who wants something to drink, guys?"

Almost immediately, everyone (Hookfang included, who let Snotlout fall off his snout with a yelp) rushed to her to grab a pint. Goblin stood up, stretching out his wings and letting out a loud yawn, before waking over to his human.

"It's going to take a while to fix all of our defenses." Fishlegs pointed at all the broken contraptions.

"We can't rely on the Night Terrors all the time, we need to figure out how to keep the hunters away while we fix them up." Heather commented.

"Well, you and Goblin have no problem with it. I mean, al he has to do is to shoot a lighting at the ship and bye-bye!" Tuffnut shrugged.

"Hehe! Remember when they tried to latch unto his leg with a chain?" Ruffnut laughed at the memory.

"Ha! Who wouldn't forget? His lighting technically attacked on its own accord!"

"The chains might be dragon-proof, but they're still made of metal, and it's a good conductor for electricity." Fishlegs pointed out.

Snotlout caught up to them, grabbing a pint and taking a quick gulp. "Hm! This is very delicious! What's you're recipe?" he winked at Heather, who rolled her eyes.

"I just pour some water and a bit of frozen cubes." She stated.

"Well, I bet someday you'll someday make a _certain_ Viking warrior very happy…" Before Snotlout could continue with his moves any further, suddenly a current of electricity ran through his body and rendered him immobilized. Goblin had touched his leg with the tip of his claw, sending just enough to paralyze him for a few minutes.

" **You should stop tormenting him so much, you know**." Hookfang growled lightly.

" **I will when he leaves Heather alone**." Goblin retorted.

" **Come on! It's bound to happen someday! You know, she'll find a mate sooner or later**."

" **I know, I'm just not making sure it's not** ** _him_** **of all people**!"

" **How curious, that's exactly how Stormfly says it**!" Meatlug giggled.

Just then, two dragons flew overhead, and landed on the platform, Hiccup and Astrid jumping off their dragons and heading towards the group.

"How was it?" Fishlegs inquired.

"It's a disaster. The storm brought down most of the trees and lots of Night Terrors were injured." Hiccup sighed.

"How bad were they hurt?" Heather asked, handing them two pints of fresh water, which they accepted gratefully.

"Some of them have broken wings, others lots of scratches." Astrid explained.

"I'll take a look at them later."

While their humans discussed about the state of the place, their dragons went to take a drink at the stables nearby.

" **Was it that bad**?" Barf inquired after taking a quick drink.

" **Just like Hiccup said, lots of trees were torn and the Night Terrors were no better**." Stormfly said. "

" **I hope things are better at Berk**." Goblin sighed. The others could tell he was worried.

" **Don't worry, surely they're fine. Quinarth would never let them fly into such a storm**." Toothless reassured him.

" **I know, but Pearl has been turning a bit rebellious these days. She's been begging me to take her into a storm for days, I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to fly out into** ** _this_** **storm**."

" **No offense, but she got it from your side of the family**." Hookfang shrugged. " **I mean, you're a Skrill, she's a Skrill, and… Well, we all know the rest**."

" **What about Lightingbolt, Nibblertooth and Syrilth**?" Belch inquired.

" **Last time I heard, they had to stop Pearl from going into a small thunderstorm last week. I hope we get to go back soon, I want to see if they're okay**."

Meatlug saw a small speck in the distance approaching at top speed. " **Gob, I think your wish is about to come true** …" Just then, a Terrible Terror landed inside, panting heavily, with a note attached to his leg.

" **What's up, Horny**?" Hookfang snickered at the name, only to receive a smack from Stormfly's wing. " **Ow**!"

" **Guys, something weird's going on, we're all freaking out**!" Horny retorted, looking scared out of his wits.

" **First of all, calm down. And second, define 'weird'**." Toothless stated calmly.

" **You know that a big storm passed through here, right**?"

" **Oh, what made you think that**?" Belch rolled his eyes.

" **The fact that everything here is a complete mess**?" Barf finished the sentence.

" **Well, anyway, after that weird things started to happen! We hear strange sounds at night, and in the morning all the food supplies are all messed**!"

" **A thief? The humans will handle it**." Goblin stated.

" **Nonono! The weird thing is that** ** _nothing_** **was stolen**!"

" **What do you mean**?"

" **The baskets and barrels are all turned, but the food is always intact! And there are lots of claw marks around the crime scenes**."

" **Claw marks…**?"

" **Then it must be a wild dragon**." Toothless concluded.

" **But all the wild dragons in Berk know that the humans' food is off-limits unless it's for feeding the ones who have a human, or the humans themselves offer them**." Stormfly recalled.

" **That's the weirdest thing of all… In all the crime scenes, there were…** "

" **There were what**?" Hookfang growled, pressuring him to talk.

Horny slid the note off his leg and managed to unfold the paper, showing the larger dragons the contents…

* * *

The next day, Hiccup, Heather and Fishlegs had set out to Berk in their dragons early in the morning, while Astrid, Snotlout and the twins stayed behind in Dragon's Edge, with Astrid in charge, to keep repairing the damaged parts and to defend the island in case any hunters attacked. The trio was soon approaching Berk as fast as they could.

"You think it's a wild dragon?" Heather called out to Hiccup.

"That's the only logical explanation, there's no bird large enough to cause so much damage!" Hiccup stated.

"But the Book of Dragons doesn't say anything about feathered species!" Fishlegs replied.

"It could be a new species we haven't seen before. We can't discard the possibility until we hear the facts!"

"You think we'll have time to see our parents? Mom and dad told me to go see them everytime we come back." Heather stated.

Hiccup nodded. "Don't worry, while our dragons rest you and Fishlegs can go home while I talk with dad. He said he had something to show me about our 'thief'."

As soon as they landed in the main square, the group was swarmed by a large crowd of Vikings. They were all scared and some of them angry, apparently the mysterious thief had caused quite an uproar.

"It's an evil spirit that has come back to haunt us!"

"It comes every night!"

"All of our food is always ruined the next morning!"

"Everyone, settle down!" Stoic's voice sent everyone into silence, and he stepped forward towards Hiccup and Toothless. "Son, it's a good thing you arrived so soon. There's something you have to see."

"Tell me everything on the way, dad. If we're dealing with a new dragon species, we'll need all the information possible." Hiccup said as he went after his father towards Silent Sven's farm.

Heather and Fishlegs waved each other a small good-bye for the time being and went to their respective homes, their dragons following their respective dragons. Like Heather half-expected, her parents were waiting for there just outside, and as soon as they saw her she rushed towards them and they shared a hug. Goblin couldn't help but smile a bit.

"Heather, we're so glad to see you!" her mother said.

"Are you okay? That storm was terrible! Did you or Goblin get hurt?" Her father inquired, pulling back momentarily to check if his daughter was okay.

"We're okay, dad. " Heather laughed, hugging her father again.

"Let's go inside, honey. I made your favorite dish today!"

"Thanks, mom! There's so much I have to tell you!"

As he watched his rider disappear with her parents behind the doors, Goblin walked to the backyard to check on his mate and offspring. He was caught by surprise when he was overwhelmed and fell to the ground with a loud thud when the children came over him, rubbing against him.

" **Dad, you're back**!"

" **Did you see the lightings from a few days ago? They were awesome**!"

" **Kyra didn't stop whimpering like a pup**!"

" **That's not true**!"

" **It is**."

Goblin was so happy to see his not-so-little ones he didn't mind being on the ground. They had grown considerably, not big enough to carry a human yet though, and could be considered ten-year-olds in dragon terms. Soon, Quinarth approached, chuckling. " **Children, get off your father so he can tell you what he has been doing.** "

When the hatchlings got off him, Goblin went back to his talons, and almost automatically counted his hatchlings. Nibblertooth, Kyra, Kyroc, Lightingbolt, Syrilth, Vermillion…

" **Quinarth, where's Pear** l?" he inquired when he noticed his daughter was not there.

Quinarth sighed and looked back at the barn. " **Pearl, come here**!" she called out. The young Skrill soon walked out, but she seemed frustrated and… he could tell she was upset as well.

Vermillion snickered. " **Now she's going to hear it** …"

" **Hey, it's not funny**!" Nibblertooth scolded his younger sister.

" **She nearly got electrified out there…**!" Lightingbolt whispered.

" **Now's not the time, guys**." Syrilth calmly told them.

When Pearl was in front of her father, she was still looking down. " **Is there something you wish to tell your father?** " Quinarth asked her sternly.

" **Umm** …" Pearl tried to find something to say. " **Uh… Well, me, Spike and Flamebite hunt down a small boar**!" she looked up at her father with a nervous smile. Then he knew she was trying to hide something.

Quinarth shook her head in disappointment, before looking at Goblin. " **She tried to fly into the storm by herself and** ** _nearly_** **drowned**."

" **She did what**?!" Goblin glared down at Pearl sternly, who looked down again. " **What happened**?"

" **We all went to the caves to wait until the storm stopped, but Pearl snuck out and tried to catch lighting by herself**." Quinarth explained. " **Lightingbolt, Syrilth and Nibblertooth had to stop her and bring her back**."

" **Pearl, is that true?** "

"…."

" **I asked you a question, young drady. Is what you're mother just said true?** "

" **It is!** " she finally snapped, but she was near tears now.

The others recognized their father's tone of voice, and didn't need another indirect to leave him and Pearl alone for the time being. Quinarth went after her hatchlings, glancing back at Goblin and Pearl once more before leaving.

" **Why, Pearl?** " Goblin growled. " **I thought we had talked about this before**."

" **I just wanted to see how it felt like!** " Pearl retorted defensively.

" **You can't just go into a storm and absorb random lighting, especially not in a storm of this magnitude!** "

" **What's the problem?! I'm a Skrill like you! I can absorb lighting too!** "

" **But you don't know how it's done**!" Goblin hissed. " **You just don't go into the storm and catch it like that! You have to learn to canalize it through your body and keep it away from your heart! And then how to store it inside**!"

" **You make it sound harder than it is**!"

" **It** ** _is_** **harder than it seems! And lighting of that magnitude is too dangerous for a youngling like you! Only Titans can handle those kind of lighting**!"

" **Hey, Goblin**!" Meatlug came into the backyard with an alarmed look on her face. " **Toothless has something to show us**!"

Goblin let out an exasperated sigh, and glared down at his daughter. " **I'll talk about this with you later**." He hissed, before going after Meatlug. They headed towards Hiccup's house.

" **Why are you so hard on her**?" Meatlug inquired on the way.

" **She could have gotten killed. I told them to stay away from storms until I can teach them how to channel the lighting through their bodies, and she didn't listen**!"

" **And when are you going to teach them that? We've been quite busy at Dragon's Edge**."

" **I don't know** …"

" **They could go to Dragon's Edge one of these days, you know** -"

" **Absolutely not**."

" **We haven't had any raids from the Hunters lately** -"

" **I'm not taking the risk. You heard Hiccup, the defenses are all destroyed and the Night Terrors are hurt. The Hunters could attack at any moment, and you saw how they reacted when they saw Toothless and me. If they go to so much lengths to capture a Skrill, imagine three young Skrills and a Skradder**."

Hiccup, Toothless, Heather, Fishlegs and Stoic were outside the Chief's house, examining something. They heard some of their whispers.

"They found this at the crime scene?"

"It was in Sven's barn, but like all those other times the mutton and yak meat were untouched!

"It's almost like this 'thief' is looking for an specific food."

"What will we do about this?"

"Well, this undoubtedly can't be a common bird. There's not as large to have this size of feathers."

Goblin and Meatlug took a closer look at the item Stoic was holding. It was a large feather, the largest they had ever seen, colored in various shades of blue. Fishlegs was right in something, this was too big to belong to an ordinary bird.

Suddenly, a roar-the strangest roar they had ever heard, it sounded more like a high-pitched, bird-like shriek- echoed through the village, it was coming from the forest. All the nearby Vikings went into a fit of panic and started to rush into their homes, thinking the 'spirit' would be coming soon.

"Is that the sound you've been hearing lately?" Heather asked.

"It is." Stoic glanced at the direction of the forest.

"I have never heard a sound like it before." Fishlegs immediately got excited. "I knew it! A new species!"

Hiccup climbed unto Toothless. "If it's a new dragon we're dealing with, we'll something out."

Goblin had a bad feeling about those shrieks coming from the forest, but as soon as Heather climbed unto him he flew into the air, following after Toothless and Meatlug. He just hoped this new dragon wasn't hostile.


	2. The Feathered Dragon

"Are you sure it's this way?"

Hiccup nodded from Toothless's back as he, Fishlegs and Heather flew around Berk. "The noise came from this direction, so that dragon has to be here somewhere."

"How can we know it's a dragon?" Heather stated. "I know no dragon who has feathers."

"Unless there's a bird big enough to grow feathers that size, it must be some kind of dragon. It could be a dragon from another part of the world."

Fishlegs nodded. "I agree on that one! I have never heard a call like that, I can be certain it's not from any of the types of dragons found in Berk or the archipelago."

The dragons stopped in mid-flight wen the same bird-like screech echoed through the air, coming from below. It seemed like the dragon was in the cove, and it sounded like it was in distress.

"The sound is coming from the cove, guys!" Hiccup called out. "It must be trapped there. Let's go down and see what type of dragon it is."

"Oh, I brought the book in case it's not a dragon from these parts!" Fishlegs chirped, holding out the leather-bound book. Meatlug snorted and rolled her eyes with a grin.

As the dragons descended towards the cove, Goblin and Toothless caught sight of a flash of blue rushing through the place and jumping into the tree when they got closer. The dragons landed in the middle of the cove, and watched as their humans dismounted; the screeching was gone, as well as the dragon that made it. Or so it seemed.

"Where did it go?" Heather glanced around the cove, searching for anything unfamiliar.

Fishlegs started examining the area near the pond, and found something strange. "Guys, look at these!" There were small but still oversized feathers of all types were floating on the surface, all of various shades of blue.

"More Feathers. Just like the one Bucket found in his barn."

Hiccup noted that from the pond, there was a trail of more feathers leading to the tree on the other side of the cove. "Guys, I think the dragon climbed unto the tree."

Toothless approached the tree where he used to sleep upside down, but stopped when his ears caught a growl coming from the upper branches of the tree, where the leaves were so thick he couldn't see whoever was hiding in there.

"It's up there." Heather stated.

"We have to get him down somehow." Hiccup added, approaching the three warily. "Maybe if we got some food we could-" He couldn't finish the sentence as Meatlug rushed to the three and tackled it with her head, shaking it.

" **MEATLUG**!" Goblin and Toothless yelled in anger.

The Gronckle glanced back at them. "What? I love meeting new friends!"

A blue shape fell from the branches of the tree and fell to the ground with a loud thud, letting out a screech of pain. The humans and their dragons stepped back in surprise when the dragon stood up quickly and stepped back from them, letting out a hiss.

Neither the humans or dragons could believe their eyes.

Like Fishlegs had said, this was not a dragon they had ever seen in their lives. It was seventeen hands tall, and two meters long, with a 5.30 meter long tail. Its medium-length neck was slender and elegant, as well as it's legs. Green eyes with two thin lines were staring at the group with hostility. But the shocking thing about this dragon was that it had feathers; feathered wings, feathers growing like a fan along the sides of its tail, and a crown of feathers on its head; even its two long ears seemed to be feathery at the edges to some extent.

This dragon in particular was of many shades of blue, most of all moderate sapphire blue scales, with a lighter Persian blue underbelly. The tip of his ears were of a dark blue color, as well as down his crocodile-like head, and his feathered paws. His crown of head feather were of the same color, but at the tips they blended into icy blue. The fan-like giant feathers at the end of his tail were a darker and grayish Persian blue, with an even darker middle and ice blue tips. Its feathered wings seemingly had all the colors of its body; the marginal coverts and the alula were moderate sapphire blue like the rest of its body, the primary and secondary coverts were Persian blue with ice blue edges. Finally, the primary and secondary feathers of the wings were dark Persian blue, turning into a darker shade at the half, and finally blended into a black-like blue in the tips. Its eyelids were pale blue as well.

Hiccup tried to get closer, but the dragon hissed and lifted his crow feathers, baring its teeth. Toothless stood in front of his human protectively, but the dragon was not intimidated.

"Oh, Thor…!" Fishlegs could barely contain his excitement. "I can't believe it! This is a new species!"

"Look at those feathers!" Heather added, pointing at the dragon's wings. "They're beautiful!" She noted the dragon's right wing was hanging, and the dragon seemed to wince every time he moved it. "Hiccup, I think that dragon is injured."

Hiccup took a closer look at the limp wing, and realized she was right. "It must be broken. That's why he can't get out of the cove. We must take him back to the village to see how bad it is."

"How?" Fishlegs stated, flinching when the feathered dragon's eyes set on him. "He's technically growling at us."

"We need to show him we're not going to harm him."

The dragons decided to try and calm this stranger down. Goblin, in particular, sympathized with this dragon, since both of them had been through the same.

Finally, the dragon talked. "¿ ** _Quiénes son ustedes?!_** "

The three dragons stared at him with dumbfounded expressions.

" **Listen, friend, cool it down**!" Goblin spoke first. " **We're not going to hurt you**!"

Despite his hesitance and fear, the feathered dragon responded. " **You don't speak Spanish? Where am I?** "

" **This is Berk, friend**." Toothless replied, softly. " **You don't have to be afraid, we are not going to hurt out.** "

The feathered dragon's crown feathers relaxed and bent back against his body, his ears perked up. " **Are those humans yours**?"

" **Yes**." Goblin replied, approaching the feathered dragon warily. " **They want to help you with your injured wing, but you have to trust them**."

The stranger dragon turned towards the humans, and noted Hiccup had walked closer to him, stretching out his hand."

"Hello there, boy, or girl…" the dragon growled softly at the world 'girl'. "Well, boy. It's okay, I just want to help you."

The feathered dragon growled softly as Hiccup outstretched his hand. However, he bent his neck forward after a few seconds, and gently touched the human's hand with his nose.

"That's right, you're a good boy…" Hiccup ran his hand down the dragon's neck, and much to his surprise he realized that instead of scales, this dragon was covered in feathers just like a bird. "This is amazing, he is covered in feathers!"

"You know what this means?! This could be a new class of dragons!" Fishlegs approached the blue dragon and examined him from tail-to-head, sketching him in the Book of Dragons. "He's covered in feathers, so it could be Feathery Class! What do you think?"

The newcomer stepped away from Fishlegs, grunting in pain at his broken wing and lowering his ears in discomfort. "Is this fat human always like this?"

" **Don't worry, he's enthusiastic about meeting new dragons**." Meatlug said. " **That's why I love him so much**!"

" **Anyway, what's your name?** " Toothless inquired.

" **Blueberry**." The feathered dragon said.

Heather had the feeling something was off. "Hiccup, don't you think taming this dragon was a bit too… easy?"

"What do you mean?" Hiccup inquired, glancing at her.

"I mean, he is not that hostile at all. Wild dragons are usually distrustful towards humans, but this one acts like he's already accustomed to them."

"Maybe this species is docile, wherever it is from…"

Suddenly, Blueberry lifted his ears in alarm as he remembered his situation. " **Have you seen a female human around here?**!" he asked the other three dragons, stepping towards them with some difficulty.

" **Uh, could you be a bit more specific**?" Goblin stared at him in confusion. "There are many female humans in this island."

" **How does she look like**?"

" **CRAH**!" Blueberry cried out. " **NORA**!"

Out of sudden, Blueberry started screeching again as he ran towards the stony walls of the cove and tried to fly, but his broken wing crunched and he let another screech of pain as he fell back to the ground with a loud thud, making the group run towards him in worry.

" **Blueberry, stop**!" Toothless growled. " **You're hurt, you'll make it worse**!"

He paid no heed and crawled against the stone. " **I HAVE TO FIND HER**!"

" **Did you separate from your human**?" Meatlug stated. " **If you tell us how she is we might be able to help-**!"

" **THEY HAVE HER! I HAVE TO SAVE HER**!"

"What's wrong, boy?!" Hiccup's words fell on deaf ears as the dragon continued to let out desperate screeches.

"He looks like he's desperate to go somehere…" Heather pointed out.

"We have to stop him! He'll make his wing worse!"

Fishlegs glanced at his dragon. "Meatlug! On top of him!"

Blueberry cawed in surprise when suddenly he felt a very heavy weight on top of him as Meatlug jumped on top of him, though careful not to hurt his already broken wing any further. " **QUE DEMONIOS?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!** " he struggled to get free, but the pain in his wing made him stop.

" **You're going to hurt your wing further if you keep doing that**!" Goblin snapped, though there was concern in his tone of voice.

" **GET OFF ME**!"

"We need to calm him down somehow!" Hiccup quickly took some dragon nip from his pocket and ran towards Blueberry's head, placing the herb near his nostrils. Blueberry tried to free himself, but the soothing aroma of the dragon nip soon overwhelmed him, and his body became immobile in a matter of seconds, his mind momentarily clearing as his whole body relaxed, the pain in his wing became a numb feeling.

"We should take him back to the village and take a look at his wing." Fishlegs commented, running a hand down the broken wing gently.

"How will we take him back? It's not like we can carry him back just like that, we could hurt his wing even more." Heather commented.

Hiccup thought for a moment. "Actually, I got an idea…"

* * *

Blueberry didn't know how much time he was unconscious, but when he woke up, he realized he was not in the cove anymore. In fact, he soon realized he was not in the forest at all. When his vision cleared, he realized all around him was gray, and the ground felt very hard, like stone. On closer inspection, he realized his surroundings _were_ made of stone, except for the upper area, which was actually a sort of fencing that would prevent him from flying out. As his vision cleared, he realized there lots of humans all outside and around the fencing, staring at him in awe; there were other shapes which he thought were dragons. His feathery ears twitched when he heard whispers of awe and fear.

"I've never seen such a dragon before!"

"Could it be it comes from another part of the world?"

"Look at those feathers! I thought it was a gryphon!"

"I want it!"

"I offer two of my best swords and three of my best sheep for it!"

Blueberry felt his head dizzy, but he managed to get on his feet, making the crowd gasp. However, as he took a shaky step forward, he felt his broken wing forcefully close to his body. Confused, he twisted his neck rightwards to take a look at his wing, and found it folded against the side of his body, in its natural position, and it was held in place with a soft but strong rope; he managed to move it a bit, wincing, but it remained firmly on place.

" **What….?** " Blueberry didn't understand what was going on, or how he got there.

" **You are awake**."

Blueberry turned around to find Toothless and Goblin a few steps away from him.

" **Where am I?** " the feathered dragon inquired, glancing at his tied wing. " **What happened to my wing?**!"

" **The structure of your wing is similar to a bird's, so Fishlegs and Hiccup treated it the best they could**." Toothless explained.

" **Where are we?! How did I get here?!** "

" **We brought you with a stretcher made of a sail from a ship**." Goblin stated. " **Like we said before, this is the Island of Berk. Don't worry about those humans, they are just curious about you. We've never seen one of your kind around here.** "

" **I've never seen featherless dragons like you either. Am I so far from Mesoamerica?** "

" **Meso-what?** "

" **My homeland. That's where me and Nora come from-!** " Realization hit Blueberry when he realized he still did not know about Nora's whereabouts. " **NORA!** " He let out another shriek, scaring most of the humans and dragons away, but before he could try to find a way out, Toothless jumped in his way.

" **Wait**!" he cried out. " **Before you panic, tell us what happened to you!** "

" **And who is Nora? Is she your human?** " Goblin continued.

Realizing it was futile to keep panicking, Blueberry sighed in irritation, bristling all of his feathers, which gave him a funny look. " **Me and Nora come from Mesoamerica. We were sent to follow after some ships that had captured some dragons from out territory. But it seemed they were expecting us, when we approached they attacked us; Nora and I tried to fly into a the hurricane to lose them, but the wind was too strong and… We got separated. I don't remember much after that, only that I woke up in this island**."

" **Dragon hunters**." Goblin hissed, his scales sparking. Blueberry jumped back with bristled feathers.

" ** _Que fue eso?!_** " he snapped in fright.

" **Don't worry, he's a Skrill. It's what he does**." Toothless explained. " **Just try not to get too close or you will receive a shock.** " The Night fury grew serious again. " **So, the dragon hunters have Nora?** "

" **That's what I've been trying to say all along! I have to go save her!** "

" **You're in no condition to go anywhere, Blueberry**." Goblin stated, and regurgitated some mutton for him. " **Here, have some mutton**."

However, Blueberry only had to take a look at it to let out a hiss of disgust. " **What is that?!** "

" **It's mutton. You know, sheep**."

" **If you don't like it, we could get you some fish or chicken**." Toothless said.

Blueberry didn't seem convinced, however. " **Don't you have fruit?** "

" **Fruit? You eat fruit?** " Both Goblin and Toothless took a look at his teeth. They didn't look flat or gave the impression that his diet was that of a frugivore.

" **Yes, why?** "

Before Goblin or Toothless could say anything, Hiccup and their humans entered the ring, accompanied by Stoic and Gobber. Blueberry hissed warningly, stepping back and stretching out his good wing.

"So this is the new dragon?" Stoic stared at Blueberry in surprise, overall at his feathers. "I never thought I'd see one of these …"

"What do you mean, chief?" Heather asked in surprise. "Do you know about this species?"

"Long story. Back when we and the dragons weren't on good terms, we heard rumors of a tribe, who lived very far from our archipelago, who rode on feathered dragons." Gobber explained. "We merely dismissed those tales as children's stories, but now that I'm seeing one of those with my own eyes…"

"And you say this dragon did not show that much aggression?"

"Usually, wild dragons tend to avoid humans and if they can't they turn defensive, but this dragon didn't show much hostility. It's like he's already accustomed to humans." Fishlegs explained.

"Which means he _could_ have a rider. It would explain why he was so stressed." Hiccup deduced.

"If he does have a rider, where is he?" Heather noticed Blueberry letting out a hiss-like sound when she said 'he'. "Or is your rider a woman?" this time, Blueberry gave a squawk as a positive reply.

"Could it be the dragon hunters had something to do with them separating?"

As soon as Fishlegs mentioned the dragon hunters, Blueberry let out an angry hiss and his whole feathers bristled. Goblin and Toothless let out gentle growls to let their humans know they were right.

"If the dragon hunters have this dragon's rider, then it means they must have captured more dragons like him as well." Stoic concluded.

"Looks like their hunting areas are expanding if they captured dragons from beyond the archipelago." Hiccup didn't want to imagine how many other parts of the world suffered from the hunters' raids. "We have to rescue his rider!"

"Speaking of which, do you think he's hungry?" Fishlegs noticed the feathered dragon was staring at Goblin's attempt to offer him food in disgust. "I mean, it looks like he doesn't eat any of the food we have."

"Maybe we should try with other things. He probably is not familiar with the fauna around these parts. We just need to find something close to what he eats back home." Hiccup stated.

"That's the problem, we don't know what kind of food he is used to." Heather stated matter-of-factly.

"I'm sure we'll find something he'll like. How hard can it be?"


	3. Questions

Hiccup had underestimated the feathered dragon.

Blueberry had not eaten anything they tried to feed him; he rejected fish, mutton, yak and chicken. Initially they assumed he was stressed out due to being separated from his rider and being in an unfamiliar place, but soon it became clear he didn't eat meat, or at least not the ones they had. The dragons were equally puzzled when he kept asking for 'mangoes' 'bananas' and other things they had never heard of.

Fishlegs was beyond excited at this new discovery. He immediately made theories about a new class of dragons, but before he could make conclusions he wanted to learn more of this species. He made various sketches of Blueberry in the blank pages of the Book of Dragons, and even picked several of his lost feathers, all of different sizes, to put it there. While studying Blueberry, he started writing down suggestions to call the species.

When he wasn't being studied by the obese human, Blueberry wandered around the village, ignoring the weird and awed glances of humans and dragons alike, all he cared about was to find something to eat. His stomach was aching terribly at the lack of something to digest for so long, and he wasn't sure if any of the food he _could_ eat would do him any good. Eventually, his trip took him to one of the cabbage fields, where he tasted one of the vegetables, and by the end of the day he had eaten half of the cabbages, much to the distaste of a Viking woman.

"A vegetarian dragon?" Gobber had said when he saw the scene. "Now I've seen everything!"

After the discovery, Fishlegs excitement grew tenfold, and Hiccup had a weight lifted off his chest. Heather and Goblin went to the forest to find edible fruits and things that grew from plants, while Hiccup and Toothless went around the village asking the villagers for vegetables they had, while Fishlegs stayed with Blueberry to study his behavior.

"He likes to perch more often than other dragons, and he is always preening his feathers. He seems to have a sort of communication with chickens, or it might be with birds in general. Also, he seems to have more nesting behavior than other dragons, but he uses human-made things at times…" Fishlegs was thrilled at all the knowledge. "Meatlug, we're learning so much!"

Blueberry had by the gone to the corner he had claimed for himself, where he had already made a large bird-like nest of straw, some wood and a few things like boots, ropes and other things.

"Okay, Bluefeather." Fishlegs called Blueberry by the name they had thought of for him while they found his rider and learned his actual name. "Let me see your fire."

Meatlug walked over and placed a barrel on a catapult. " **Hey, Blueberry, when the barrel is on the air, shoot at it."** She told the feathered dragon.

" **Sounds easy**." Blueberry purred, bristling his feathers.

"Okay, here it comes!" Fishlegs launched the barrel into the air, and Blueberry shot an icy blue fireball at it, which shattered the barrel into millions of splinters. "Oh! Amazing! His fire is light but strong enough to shatter things at contact! Maybe he is the type of dragon to tone down fire!" he took another note in the Book of Dragons just as Hiccup and Toothless returned with a basket full of vegetables.

"Fishlegs, how's Bluefeather doing?" he asked.

"His wing seems to be better, and his behavior has avian traits. I'd say he is close to a parrot." Fishlegs winced when Blueberry screeched with bristled feathers. "I'm not serious, boy! Just kidding!"

"Bluefeather, I bet you must be hungry after all that studying, right?" Hiccup took the basket off Toothless's saddle. "Toothless and I brought you some vegetables, there's a big range of selection so that you may choose." He spilled the contents of the basket unto the ground. Carrots, potatoes, cabbages, and some things brought by Trader Johann such as corn, broccoli among other things. Almost immediately, Blueberry perked up his ears and started sniffing the vegetables. He picked out the corn, the cabbage and some red fruits called 'strawberries'. He devoured the vegetables, bristling his feathers happily and purring.

"Who would have thought there were vegetarian dragons?" Hiccup watched in awe as the feathered dragon continued to eat.

"The weird thing is that his teeth aren't flat, they're sharp and carnivorous. Think he could be omnivorous?"

"If he were, he wouldn't reject mutton and fish."

"Maybe he isn't familiar with the type of animals around here."

Blueberry snorted and sulked off to his nest. Toothless approached to talk with him. " **How's your wing doing?** "

" **I think it's getting better**." Blueberry said, glancing at his splinted wing. " **I can't wait till it heals. I'm sick of being stuck on the ground**!"

" **Have you been around the village**?"

 **"Yeah, but they won't stop staring at me. It's annoying!** "

" **The other dragons want to ask you a few questions**."

" **What kind of questions?** "

" **Most of all where you come from, what your species is, etcetera**."

Blueberry sighed in dismay, stretching out his good wing. " **I guess it's going to be a long day, isn't it?** "

" **It won't be that bad. You'll get to know everyone now that we're on it**."

" **Well… I guess it won't be that bad**."

Just then, Heather arrived on Goblin, but she was carrying a smaller basket filled with wild berries of the non-poisonous variety Gothi had shown her. At the sight of the mini-fruits, Blueberry screeched and ran towards Heather. She barely had time to put the basket on the ground before Blueberry had buried his head into the berries to devour them.

"Looks like someone is a fan of berries." Heather laughed at the sight of him wagging his tail.

"Definitely a vegetarian."

It wasn't long before Blueberry was full. He shook his head and bristled his feathers, preening on some of his wing feathers.

" **I don't know what kind of berries these are, but they are delicious!** "

" **They're just blackberries and a little variety**." Goblin explained. " **They're harmless to eat.** "

" **Blackberries? Don't you have any blueberries?** "

" **Blueberries? What are those?** " Toothless inquired.

" **They're like these ones, but a bit bigger and blue**."

Meatlug tilted her head. " **Funny, it sounds like your name**."

" **I'm named after those kind of berries**."

" **Has Toothless mentioned to you the other dragons want to ask you a few questions?** " Goblin stated.

" **He did. I just told him I'd be there**."

" **Good. We have to wait till our humans go to sleep, though. That way we won't be interrupted**."

" **Just a little detail… I kind of don't see well at night, back home we go back to our nests as soon as the sky darkens. Only a few, specially-trained dragons can fly around at night**."

" **Don't worry, we'll think of something**."

* * *

Blueberry wasn't exaggerating when he said he had poor vision at night. As Toothless and Goblin let him out of the academy and through the forest, blueberry would often trip on stones, step on sticks or receive a smack in the face from a tree branch. That, and he was more wary than usual, in his perspective everything looked different than it did during the daytime, and his poor vision at this time of the day put him at great disadvantage should they be attacked.

" **How can you see in this darkness**?" he asked.

" **How can you not see?** " Goblin asked.

" **Like I said, I was not trained for flying at night. That was what made me crash into the sea during the storm with Nora**."

" **I think the first thing they'll ask you is who Nora is.** " Toothless pointed out as they came to the edge of the cove. " **Here we are. Be careful, it's a cove, and you can't glide down in your condition**."

" **I doubt I'll even be able to climb down**."

" **That's why we're going to help you out**." Goblin said. When they were at the edge, he flapped his wings to hover into the air and lifted Blueberry by the waist, careful with his splinted wing. Toothless jumped down into the cove, while Goblin managed to fly down and place Blueberry on the ground, landing beside him, panting. He was getting too old for this.

Most of the Berk dragons were already gathered there, and most of them where giving Blueberry curious glances, some whispering at his rather undragon-like feathers. Quinarth was a few meters away, along with Meatlug, Akkyold, Karan, Nori and Nara, among others. A purple dragon of the smaller variety approached.

" **Hey there! I'm Gingertoes**!" he said cheerfully. " **What was your name again?** "

" **Blueberry**." Blueberry said simply.

" **Sounds funny**."

" **Knock it off, Gingertoes**." Akkyold growled at the Terrible Terror.

There was also a dark monstrous Nightmare who was glaring at him suspiciously, but he didn't let himself be intimidated. He had seen scarier dragons back home. On top of the rock where Thornado once sat, was a different dragon, though he seemed older and wiser than Thornado. His name was Skullcrusher, and though not officially named as Thornado's successor, he had already showed he was wise and coolheaded despite his outbursts at times.

Blueberry's crest flattened against his head as he got nervous from all the stares, a few hostile, others uncertain. Skullcrusher's voice rumbled as he spoke. " **What is your name?** "

" **Blueberry**."

" **What kind of dragon are you? we have never seen one with feathers like birds**." Greenhorn asked.

" **My kind is not native to this part of the world. Where I come from, humans call us _Mordecielos_**." He recalled they didn't understand his language when they gave him quizzical looks. " **Or Skybiters**."

" **And where did you come from, if we may know?** " Karan inquired.

" **It's a faraway land, unlike this archipelago it's not various pieces of land, it's a great, large and seemingly endless piece of lands called a continent. There is not a speck of snow, but it rains constantly, other than that it's almost always sunny. The part of the continent I come from it's a jungle** -"

" **She just asked where you came from, you don't have to give a whole description**." Steelhorn growled, irritated, to which he received a stern glare from Skullcrusher.

Blueberry frowned at him. " **Humans call it the New World**."

" **You said you had a rider**." Goblin changed the subject before a fight broke out. " **And you said she was captured by hunters.** "

At the mention of the hunters, Blueberry's feathers bristled. " **Those humans had been capturing my wild brethren, and the human chieftain sent Nora and me to follow them, but they went farther than we expected, and eventually they captured us**."

" **What did they do to your kind?** " Toothless asked.

" **Like you said, no one around here has ever seen a feathered dragon before. People pay a high sum of money for us, or even for just our feathers. I was kept apart from Nora and with my other brethren for days, but some of those men came and took some of my brethren away, I never saw those again. I was lucky, they were going to clip my wings**."

" **Clip your wings?** " a Gronckle asked. " **What does that mean?** "

" **My wings are the same as a birds. But like birds, our wings can be clipped. Clipping a wing is when our primary flight feathers are trimmed, preventing us from flying**." Blueberry stretched out his good wing and pointed at the longest feathers sticking out. " **These feathers are my primary flight feathers. They're very important for my flight, if I were to lose them I'd have to wait till my next molting to fly again**."

He continued. " **Most of my brethren had their wings clipped, but before they could clip mine Nora managed to escape and come to save me. We tried to get away, but it was nighttime, and Tlaloc's wrath came upon us**."

" **Who**?" Skullcrushed stated.

" **The god of rain and water**."

" **We have no heard of such god**." Toothless said.

" **That's because your humans' gods are different. But anyway, during that storm I was separated from Nora, but she was recaptured by the Hunters and I wind up here in Berk. And I guess you know the rest of the story**."

" **Do you know if there's anything they might want from her? Humans are not really good for their business, if you know what I mean**." Goblin asked him.

" **I don't know. It's not our location, they already have reached our land. All I can think of is that they want another kind of information… Maybe on where to find other dragons**."

" **With other dragons you mean… of your species, or your class? Are there more feathered dragons out there?** "

Blueberry nodded. " **There are. Some not as colorful as my kind, but they have feathers.** "

The other dragons were murmuring amongst themselves, while Skullcrusher seemed to be thinking. Blueberry wasn't certain of what they'd decide regarding him, but he hoped the hunters would keep Nora alive, he knew she wouldn't give up without a fight, but those men were cruel. He didn't know how far they would go get the information out of her.

* * *

The cages rarely were so full. Another shipment of fresh Skybiters from the New World. The feathered dragons were still fighting, letting out screeches, bristling their feathers as they rattled against the bars of their cages only for their captors to smash their weapons against the metal, startling the weakest specimens into submission, while the most aggressive ones growled in contempt.

"They still have fighting spirit. Good, it'll make it more entertaining to break them down." Ryker stared emotionlessly at the feathered dragons, he only needed to show himself around to make the creatures cower in fear. "But keep their feathers intact. Especially the flight feathers, they are worth a fortune." He saw a green male with beautiful yellow feathers scratching the door of his cage, and smirked mercilessly. "Start with that one."

One hunter fired an arrow at the Skybiter. It gave a screech of pain, before it fell to the ground, immobile, allowing the hunters to open its cage and drag him out towards another part of the ship. The ones with the most attractive feathers would be kept for feather harvesting, the weakest with dull feathers sold to rich people who liked to serve exotic meat on their feasts, and the good-looking ones sold to dragon collectors.

The New World turned out to be filled with new dragons never seen before, most of them feathered, but unfortunately not all were easy to capture, or find. The Skybiters were new, but soon people would get bored of them and want newer ones.

Hopefully, their 'guest' would share her knowledge of this new class of dragons soon.

" _Hijos de perra_!"

Ryker turned to another cell uninterested. A young tan-skinned woman of about eighteen with long black hair and a green one-piece dress combining skirt and blouse, bound by the waist by a long, wide, woven and ornamental sash. The blouse reached to the neck, the upper edges fastened together over the shoulders by long dark green pins and passing under the arms at the sides, She wore black wool leggings and dark brown booths. She was slim but had a great strength, though it helped her little against those bars.

"How can you do that to such a young dragon?! _Bastardo_!" she screamed at him.

"It's only the first one." Ryker said simply without bothering to look at her. "You can stop this whenever you want, you only have to tell us what we want to know."

"Even if I do, you won't keep your word!"

"Maybe. These dragons have turned out to be quite profitable, it would be a pity to waste them. I bet the feathers of that blue chicken of yours would be even more valued."

" _PONGANLE UNA MANO ENCIMA A MORAZUL Y_ -!"

"What? There's not much you can do in your current position, miss." Ryker chuckled evilly as he approached the cell. "What makes you think we have not recaptured him already?"

The girl narrowed her eyes. "If you had you would have brought him here."

"After that little escapade of yours? It's easier to keep you apart, but I'll be generous today." Still grinning, Ryker searched into his ouch and took out a large blue feather, ragged and worn.

The girl's eyes widened. She'd recognize those feathers anywhere. " _Morazul_!"

"Let's do this. If you answer some questions, I won't have my men cook your chicken for tonight."

He dropped the feather, and it floated down to the girl's hands, she held it close to her chest as her eyes swelled up with tears. She already knew her dragon's color was quite rare for Skybiters, and she didn't want to imagine what these monsters would do to him.

"I'll give you some time to think about it, but I'd make a quick decision if I were you. My men are hungry." With another mocking laugh, Ryker walked out of the cage block, followed by the guards. When she was certain she was alone, the girl started to cry, stroking the blue feather tenderly. She didn't even know if they had already harmed her dragon, or had plucked his beautiful feathers. She wanted to believe they would keep him alive at least for his coloration, but to think the agony he would go through with his feathers being plucked. Her people had inculcated her to protect her dragon at any cost, like a dragon would protect its human at any cost.

" _Lo siento, padre_ …" She heard the man still going down the hallway, and called out loudly. " _Espera_!"

Ryker stopped in his tracks, smirking.

The girl looked down regretfully, closing her eyes. "…What do you want to know?"


	4. Return to Dragon's Edge

Soon, Blueberry's wing had healed enough for him to fly again. He had never felt so relieved when he was able to lift his wing again, though it was stiff and sore from all the time it was immobile. Hiccup and Fishlegs wanted to see how feathered dragons flew, if there were any differences between feathered dragon's flight and a normal dragon's, or if their flight was more similar to a bird's.

It ended up being a combination of both dragon and bird flight. Blueberry needed to take impulse by running (or if he was perched somewhere, thrusting himself forward with his legs) before extending his wings and flying, and his wingspan was much larger than they had thought. Blueberry flapped his wings more often than normal dragons to impulse himself forward, and his tail feathers had a purpose similar to Toothless's tailfins. To land he had to flap his wings faster as he neared the ground and bring his back legs forward to touch the ground before landing.

Soon, though, the group knew they had to go back to Dragon's Edge. Blueberry didn't know what it was, only that he would have to go with them so they could figure out how to help him. That day, they packed lots of cabbages among other fruits for Blueberry later. Goblin said goodbye to Quinarth and the kids, though Pearl was nowhere to be seen. He was worried about her, but he and the others left soon after.

Hours later, when they arrived to the island, Blueberry didn't find it so different from Berk, maybe except that it was much more smaller, and there were not as many huts. In fact, these cabins were much more colorful and customized. His ears twitched at the sound of wing flapping coming from beneath, and he shrieked in surprise when a blue dragon with spines in its tail flew towards them with a human on its back.

"What the-?!" Astrid cringed at the loud cry the dragon gave, but what shocked her the most was the fact that it was covered in feathers. "What is that thing?!"

"He's the mysterious creature that had been stealing food." Heather explained. "We named him Bluefeather."

"It's the strangest dragon I have ever seen!"

"We think it's a new species." Hiccup explained. "But judging by his behavior, I think he has been trained already."

"What do you mean?"

"First let's find Snotlout and the twins and then we'll explain you everything."

Blueberry made his way down, landing in one of the nearby trees and perching there, watching as the other dragons landed. The feathered dragon hissed at Stormfly warily and, much to the surprise of humans and dragons alike, all the blue plumage in his body bristled, making him look rather funny.

"Whoa!" he spotted three other humans, two blonde and nearly identical (one being followed by a chicken), and another of good build. "Where did the blue chicken come from?" The muscled one had a voice which made Blueberry question his intelligence.

"He's not a chicken, he's Bluefeather." Hiccup explained.

"Are you sure? He looks more like a blue lizard with feathers stuck to it." Tuffnut took a glance at him with a snicker.

"We could try it out with one of the dragons!" Ruffnut added.

"Think he'll want to share some of his big feathers?"

"No one is going to pluck feathers from Bluefeather!" Hiccup snapped.

"Where did he come from?" Astrid asked. "And what kind of dragon is he?"

"That's we're trying to figure out." Heather stated. "He had been looking for food in Berk, and it turns out he only eats green things."

"Ha! A dragon eating vegetables!" Snotlout didn't believe it. "I have to see that."

Blueberry continued to hiss and bristle his plumage. Fishlegs walked to Meatlug's saddle and took one of the cabbages they had brought for him, holding it out. "Here, Bluefeather! I have a tasty cabbage!" Almost immediately, Blueberry climbed down the tree and ran towards Fishlegs, taking the cabbage and gobbling it down.

Tuffnut snickered. "Cool! Vegetarian dragon!"

"Or is it a vegan? Ruffnut inquired.

"Vegan, vegetarian, it's technically the same thing, maybe except that vegans don't eat eggs or milk."

Astrid rolled her eyes before directing to Hiccup. "Hiccup, you said before that he might have been already trained?"

"He was too easy to approach, he let us treat to his wing and he didn't show any aggression towards humans. It's like he's used to them."

"I get to keep it!"

"Wha-?! Snotlout, he might already have a rider!"

"What? Whoever finds it, keeps it!" Snotlout circled around Blueberry, glancing at his feathers greedily.

"Huh, Snotlout, I don't think you should do that…" Heather noticed Blueberry was bristling his body plumage again.

"We should let him learn the bad way…" Astrid murmured, noticing it too.

One of Blueberry's tail feathers caught Snotlout's attention. "Ah, this one will do!" He grabbed the feather and pulled to pluck it.

He wasn't prepared when Blueberry shrieked in anger and dug his teeth unto his arm. The other riders gasped in shock Snotlout screamed in pain, yelling at the feathered dragon to let go of his arm before managing to release it. But it didn't stop there; Snotlout had to run when suddenly Blueberry ran after him, screeching and biting him. Snotlout jumped into the pond to escape from Blueberry's jaws, and the feathered dragon shrieked one last time before ruffling its feathers, flying over to one of the nearby trees and perching there, all the while glaring at Snotlout with contempt.

Astrid laughed. "You don't pluck feathers from a bird, Snotlout. Much less a big feathered dragon!"

"It's like plucking a bunch of hairs from someone's hair!" Tuffnut plucked a bunch of hairs from his sister.

"OW!"

"See?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "If he isn't from around here, then where did he come from?"

"That's what we're trying to find out." Heather explained.

"He couldn't have come all the way from wherever he is on his own, someone could have brought him." Fishlegs pointed out.

"Could it have been the hunters?"

"It's possible, we don't really know how far their hunting grounds go, and we don't really know what's beyond the archipelago. There might be other kinds of dragons we have yet to discover."

Blueberry kept staring at Snotlout with contempt, bristling his body breathers and crest as he watched the human flee from the pond and after the rest of the humans as they started to walk away, but the chicken clucked and ran over to the base of his tree. Curious, Blueberry glided down and landed a few steps away from the chicken, his crest feathers twitching curiously as the chicken approached.

"Chicken! You'll talk with the big blue chicken later, come on!" Tuffnut called out for chicken, but much to his confusion Blueberry lowered his head to the ground and Chicken hopped on top of it. "Hey!" Tuffnut ran towards Blueberry, and the dragon stepped back hissing. "Give me back my chicken, you blue chicken!"

Blueberry hissed again shrieking. Chicken clucked again, but it shifted on Blueberry's head before sitting down on it again.

" **Well, look at that**." Hookfang joined the rest of the dragons, staring at the newcomer as he ran around with the flightless bird on his head, chased by the angry male twin. " **A feathered weirdo running around with Tuffnut's pet. Now I've seen everything**."

" **Hookfang, that's Blueberry**." Meatlug said, before glancing at Blueberry's direction. " **Blueberry, this is Hookfang**!"

" **Okay**!" Blueberry shrieked, running from the crazy blonde.

" **He was captured by the Hunters with his rider, but when they managed to escape they got caught in the storm from a few days ago and got separated. He washed up in Berk, but she could have been recaptured**." Toothless explained

" **Into the ocean? Doesn't that remind you of anything, Goblin**?"

" **Don't remind me** …" Goblin said in dismay. It strengthened his natural aversion to water.

" **And where did he come from**?" Hookfang asked, staring at the blue dragon suspiciously.

" **He comes from a far away land, from what he has said it's very different from Berk**." Toothless pointed out. " **He speaks a different language, but thankfully he speaks enough of our language to speak clearly**."

" **Not to mention he eats green things, as you just saw**." Goblin added. " **I don't know how he can eat cabbages without those leaves getting stuck at his teeth**."

Stormfly joined in. " **Hiccup said he could have a human?** "

" **He says he does, but apparently she was taken by the Hunters**."

" **Think the humans will think of a way to save her**?"

" **They will! They always do**!" Meatlug cried out happily.

By then, Blueberry had again climbed unto the tree to avoid Tuffnut, Chicken still safely tucked on top of his head. He watched amusingly as the human tried to climb into his tree with no success.

* * *

"That dragon is crazy!" Snotlout repeated for the fifth time, rubbing his rear while glancing at the door.

"What did you expect when you tried to pluck one of his feathers?" Astrid pointed out. "How would you feel if someone just came out of nowhere and plucked a chunk of your hair?"

"I could do it." Ruffnut said, snickering mischievously.

"Guys, let's get back on track. If that dragon has a rider, we need to find her quickly." Hiccup said.

"What if she's being held captive by the hunters?" Heather pointed out.

"It makes sense, if she's from a land with different types of dragons unlike everything we've seen, they would want to know everything about the dragons there. And since she's a rider, she must know about the Feathery class species."

"Exactly. We have to save her before they can get the information out of her."

"And how are we supposed to find her? There are lots of Hunter hideouts we haven't yet found, if she isn't being held in one of the ships which are constantly on the move!" Snotlout pointed out, annoyed.

"Think Bluefeather could recognize the ship he was being kept on?" Astrid suggested. "He looks very smart, maybe he could have a certain reaction."

"That's a possibility. We don't know everything about that dragon yet, perhaps he has other abilities we have yet to discover." Fishlegs said, squealing in delight. "I still can't believe it! Feathered dragons!"

"Just keep him away from my butt or we'll have serious problems!" Snotlout snapped again.

Ruffnut was snickering on seeing her brother yelling curses at the feathered dragon, who was still on top of the tree, shrieking with Chicken on his head. "I like him already!"

"Before we try to stage a rescue mission, we should try to learn all we can about him." Hiccup pointed out. "How he attacks, how he moves in the air, everything so we can make an strategy with him."

"A good thing I brought the Book of Dragons…!" Fishlegs chirped with said tome in his hands.

Hiccup sighed in dismay. "We have a long way to go."

* * *

" **This is a bad idea**."

Pearl snorted in dismay. " **Stop complaining, would you**?"

" **Dad will have our hides if he finds us there!** " Lightingbolt snapped. " **He told us it was dangerous!** "

" **And mom will worry about us**." Syrilth added.

" **Come on, we'll just take a look, then we'll go back to Berk. Dad will never notice**." Pearl repeated for the fifth time.

When their parents had left, the three Skrill siblings, Grapefang (Hookfang's eldest son) and Windslicer (one of Stormfly's daughters) had silently followed suit, far enough so they wouldn't be noticed, but close enough to follow them. They managed to follow them all the way beyond what they knew of the archipelago, even though Lightingbolt's wings nearly failed him and they had to rest on one of the smaller rocks. When they finally arrived to what their parents called Dragon's Edge, they had to admit, it was even better than they had imagined.

The young dragons landed a few miles away from the wooden houses where they assumed their parents and the humans lived, in a beautiful clearing with a beautiful pond.

" **Cool**!" Grapefang was wagging his tail as he sniffed around. " **It has lots of room to play in!** "

" **I still think this was a bad idea**." Lightingbolt repeated. " **If our parents find us here…** "

" **Come on, guys! Let's take a look around!** " Grapefang ignored and crawled towards the pond. " **The last to the pond is a lizard**!"

Pearl and Windslicer went after him, ignoring him again. Lightingbolt sighed in dismay. " **We'll get in trouble, I know it**."

" **You should stop worrying so much**." Syrilth calmly said. Even though they were half-grown, Syrilth was still the smallest of his siblings.

" **There's an 80% or probability that dad will catch us here, and 100% probability that he will be** ** _mad_**."

" **And if you take into account Heather will be probably be there, as well as Toothless and the others?** "

Lightingbolt thought for a few moments, and then spoke again. " **Well, taking into account dad will not yell at us in front of the other dragons, and there's 60% probability Heather will step in for us, he will ground us in the stables. Judging by the circumstances, though, considering the considerably higher danger rate in this island** -"

" **Lightingbolt**!"

" **Well, I'm just saying there's a higher probability of encountering hostile humans or-**!"

Both siblings were caught off guard when suddenly, two strange tails emerged from the bushes and wrapped around their waists, lifting them up. Before they could electrify the poor fool, however, they felt something pointy pressing against their scales; they realized it was a warning not to try anything funny.

Grapefang, Pearl and Windslicer stopped in their playful splashing when they heard yelps of fright coming from the two young Skrills, and froze when a large black and yellow dragon that reminded them of a scorpion came out, holding Lightingbolt and Syrilth as 'hostages', glaring at them with crimson eyes.

Lightingbolt sighed in dismay. "… **dragons**."


	5. In Trouble

A while after Tuffnut managed to recover Chicken from Blueberry (in reality, Blueberry got tired of being chased around and allowed Chicken to get off his head on her own accord), the humans went to give their dragons a good brushing. Blueberry didn't immediately follow them into the stables, he had to be lured in with some cabbages Hiccup had brought for him, but as Astrid tried to close the door Blueberry shrieked and rushed back outside with bristled plumage. Oddly, when Astrid opened the door again he calmly went back inside to finish his cabbages. Fishlegs concluded he didn't like enclosed spaces. This theory was partly correct, after what he went through with the Hunters, Blueberry didn't want to feel locked up again.

Blueberry perched himself on top of one of the upper stables and watched as the humans proceeded to brush their dragons' scales with some brushes. Well, Snotlout was trying to, the red dragon named Hookfang wasn't being helpful in that aspect. The rest of the humans had no problem with it, he noticed that Goblin and Toothless in particular were enjoying their 'session'.

However, when Fishlegs approached him with a brush, Blueberry moved away, bristling his plumage as a warning. "It's okay, Blueberry, I just want to brush your feathers so you won't have any parasites." Fishlegs explained calmly, making sure not to make him feel cornered, and showing him the brush at all times.

"Perhaps he's not used to it." Heather pointed out.

"Or his rider uses a different tool to clean his plumage." Astrid added.

But Blueberry was having none of it. He stepped away again, this time spreading out his wings slightly at the same time he bristled his plumage and giving a warning hiss, a clear sign his patience was wearing thin.

"He doesn't like baths either!" Ruffnut laugh. "Definitely, we're going to be good friends!"

"Whatever, just get him away from my beautiful self!" Snotlout snapped, but his bravado disappeared when Blueberry turned to him with slit pupils and ears down, and hid behind Hookfang, who rolled his eyes and stepped aside. That boy needed to learn to face his problems rather than hiding from them, especially when it was something he brought upon himself.

"Or perhaps…" Fishlegs started to think of an idea. Blueberry was a bird-like dragon, so maybe… "Hey, Bluefeather, how about we go to the pond?"

Blueberry lifted his ears and crest in delight, and before anyone could do something about it he was off outside. The humans, and their dragons, quickly followed to see what he was up to. By the time they were there, Blueberry was already splashing around in the pond and shaking his whole body with his plumage bristled, just like a bird taking a bath.

Unfortunately, he was so immersed in his bath he didn't notice he was splashing water all over the place, and one of those streams of water flew right into Goblin's face. The Skrill shrieked in disgust and stepped away, trying to shake the wetness off his scales, giving the humans a resentful glare as they snickered. Soon Blueberry stepped out of the pond, dripping wet, and Goblin was quick to step back just as Blueberry shook, snickering in revenge when it as the humans' turn to get soaked. Soon after, the feathered dragon spread out his wings and started plucking his old feathers.

Astrid winced everytime he plucked feather after feather. "Hey, what is he doing?"

"Looks like he's plucking his feathers, but why…?" Fishlegs thought for a moment, and noticed how he wasn't picking them out at random. Warily he picked up one of the shed feathers, and noticed it looked old and worn. "I think he plucks his old feathers to allow new ones to grow."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were picking out the old feathers, snickering as their newest pranks. Blueberry perked up his ears when he hear a small wing flapping, and glanced above just in time to see a tiny green dragon flying towards one of the wooden structures.

"Terror mail!" Hiccup said. "Come on, guys, it could be information about the Hunters."

As the humans went to the mess hall, their dragons stayed behind to talk a bit. Blueberry glanced at Goblin apologetically. " **My apologies, I hadn't taken a bath for a good while**."

" **The look on your face** …" Hookfang snickered in delight.

" **Very funny**." Goblin growled at him.

" **Come on, you have to admit, it was funny! And you did need a bath too**!" Meatlug added.

" **Seriously, now you're on his side**?"

Just then, Blueberry heard yet another wing flapping, but this one was heavier and louder than the last. He bristled his feathers and spread out his wings in a threatening posture when he saw a large scorpion-like dragon approaching.

" **Nono, cool it down!** " Toothless jumped in front of him before he could fire at the newcomer. " **That's just Sleuther, he's a friend**."

" **And looks like he's not alone** …" Barf pointed out when h noticed two three smaller spots flying after him.

Belch had the feeling things would get nasty when he recognized who they were. " **Hey, Goblin, aren't those…?** "

As Sleuther got closer, Goblin's pupils became slits. " **Children?!** "

" **Grapefang?!** " Hookfang cried out.

" **Windslicer**?!" Stormfly followed in dismay.

Blueberry looked at Toothless in confusion. The Night Fury guessed he could explain what was going on. " **Hookfang, Goblin and Stormfly's kids**."

" **Oh**."

Sleuther landed a few feet away from the other dragons, releasing Peal and Grapefang from his talons. " **I had the feeling they belonged to you**."

Lightingbolt and Syrilth cowered wen their father approached with a deep frown, but Pearl stood her ground even though she was trembling.

" **What in tarnation are you doing here?!** " Goblin growled, baring his teeth. " **How did you find this place?!** "

" **We kind of… followed you**." Syrilth said timidly.

" **I can see that, but I mean why did you do that when I expressly told you not to?!** "

" **We were curious! All of you didn't stop talking wonders about this place and we wanted to see it!** "

" **What you five did was very dangerous!** " Hookfang snapped. " **What if you ran into a feral dragon, or a whole herd?! Or worse, what if you had ran into the Dragon Hunters!** "

" **But it didn't happen, stop making such a ruckus!** " Pearl soon regretted her choice of words when her father glared at her.

" **Seriously, Pearl?! What will it take for you to understand the danger you put yourself in?! To be actually captured by the Hunters?!** " Of course he didn't want it to happen, it was just a metaphor.

" **Dad, I know you're mad and you have every right to! But yelling at her will only push her into disobeying you again**!" Lightingbolt pointed out, to which he received a smack from the tail from his sister. " **OW**!"

Goblin didn't have the mood to deal with this. " **That's it, the three of you are grounded until we get back to Berk!** " He hissed. " **Now go to the stables and stay there! I don't want to see any of you right now**!"

" **But-!** "

" **Now!** "

As the three Skrill siblings darted off to the building nervously, Stormfly glared down at Windslicer. " **You too, young lady**."

Grapefang didn't need to be told he was in trouble too, he quietly followed after his friends under his father's watchful eye. Blueberry and Sleuther had watched the whole scene quietly. Toothless approached them.

" **Sorry you had to see that.** " He said, mostly directing his words to Blueberry. " **Goblin is very strict on his children, but he means well. It's just he's been in the hands of the Hunters before, and he knows it isn't a pleasant experience.** "

" **Tell that to me** …" Sleuther added bitterly, glancing away at the reminder.

" **That's okay** …" Blueberry said, glancing at the building the humans had disappeared into. " **What do you think they are doing in there**?"

" **Well, they got terror mail**." Belch stated. " **It could be anything. Even common messages like 'hey, how are you doing in Dragon's edge?' or 'I love you too, mommy', or** …"

* * *

"They have more dragons like Bluefeather." Hiccup read the letter from Queen Mala, making sure not to miss any details. "The Hunters have been taking them to the Northern Markets to sell their feathers, it seems like they are very demanded lately."

"It's the first time those dragons are seen around here, the rarest dragons are to obtain, the more expensive they are." Fishlegs pointed out.

"But where are they bringing them from?" Heather added. "None of us had ever seen Bluefeather's kind before, and judging by this we could assume they are not from the archipelago."

"The question is, how far are the Hunters really extended?" Astrid pointed out. "As far as we know, there could be more people like Viggo and Ryker spread around the world and we don't know it."

"Well, according to Mala's informants, there will be another cargo ship transporting more feathered dragons into the Northern Markets. Maybe the Hunters have maps or something indicating where they are getting these dragons from."

"So, you say we go free those dragons and then what? Take them it?!" Snotlout cried out in annoyance. He didn't want more biting Blueberries running around. "What's this, a dragon inn?"

"Cool! More feathers for us!"

When the group glanced at the twins, the two were wearing strange crest-like crowns made of the shed blue feathers, giving them a rather comical look. "What are you two wearing?" Heather asked.

"These are our new Featherhats!"

"Made from 100% feathered-dragon feathers!"

Snotlout shuddered at the sight of the feathers, rubbing his rear when he remembered the dragon's fangs on it. "Just seeing you two wearing anything coming from that feathered maniac makes me sick!"

"Would you stop referring to Bluefeather as a maniac?" Fishlegs said, rolling his eyes. "How would you feel if someone just came and plucked a bunch of hair off your head?"

"Come on, who would want a bunch of hair?"

Tuffnut snickered. "Well, our uncle Lak would want it, he's as bald as Gobber."

"If not more." Ruffnut added with an evil chuckle.

"Hiccup, do you think the Hunters would be holding Bluefeather's rider captive in one of those ships?" Astrid suggested.

Hiccup nodded. "It could be, they would need information on how to handle the feathered dragons."

"And who better than someone who trained one?" Fishlegs realized what he meant.

They had to make a plan.

* * *

 **Next Morning…**

* * *

She was awakened by the sunlight that filtered through her barred window, it was the only connection she had to the outside. She rubbed her eyes as she stretched out her body, and her vision cleared. Apart from the sound of the ocean from the outside, she could hear the whimpers and growls of the feathered dragons in the cages around her, but none of them was her Blueberry. None of this cries belonged to him, she would recognize it from a hundred other dragons' roars. Still, she did what she could to keep the other dragons comfortable even in her situation.

When she was certain there no guards around, the girl gave a small, almost silent whistle. The feathered dragons in the cage in front of her, two red and one yellow, perked up their ears and glanced at her. They were hungry and frightened, a few of them still sore from their plucked feathers. She took a few berries from her pouch, nd sent them rolling towards the cage. Their eyes lit up at the food, the youngest dragon's head was small enough to fit through the bars and lick up the berries from the floor, while the others had to stick out their long tongues to reach out for the other berries.

A door opening made the dragons cower back into the corners of the cages, and the girl stepped back into the corner as well.

"Okay, you feathered lizards! It's time to eat!" the guard threw one single cabbage on each cage, snickering in amusement when the dragons inside started bickering for it, though he was glad not to be grabbing slimy fish for a change. When he got to the cage the girl was being held in, he threw a small apple inside. He had wanted to eat it himself, but Ryker said to keep the girl fed.

She just glared at him as he passed by, but she quickly grabbed the apple and started to eat it. She didn't know for how much time they would continue to feed her.

She still couldn't believe she had given them what they wanted. She tried to give as much incorrect information as she could, but she also knew they were not stupid. She had given them information regarding the behavior of the Skybiters, though she tried not to give them hints regarding how to capture them.

But these men were not the ones who captured the Skybiters. They were in league, that was for certain, otherwise why would these Hunters ask for information about dragons that weren't in this part of the world anyway? If only she could manage to get out of here…

She froze when she heard a familiar cry from the outside.


	6. Meeting Nora

"Okay, everyone, you know what to do!" Hiccup cried out as he and the others approached the cargo on their dragons. "We take out the guards and then release the dragons!"

"And then what?!" Snotlout stated. "How do you know they will follow the blue chicken-lizard!"

"If we're correct, these dragons have a will have a flocking behavior! But they are more likely to follow one of their own species!" Fishlegs explained, glancing back at Blueberry. He looked anxious.

"Fishlegs, you and Heather protect Bluefather until we release the other dragons!"

Heather nodded. "Okay."

"The rest, let's go!"

Blueberry watched as Toothless, Hookfang Stormfly, and Barf and Belch descended down unto the ships, but as he tried to follow, Meatlug flew in front of him.

"Bluefeather, don't!" Fishlegs cried out.

Blueberry shrieked in anger, bristling his feathers and crest. Goblin growled something at him, and the Skybiter seemingly settled down, though he still looked upset.

Meanwhile, Toothless shot a fireball at the deck, sending some hunters flying to the ocean. The archers aimed their arrows at the Night Fury, but some spines from Stormfly frightened them long enough for Hookfang to pick them up with his talons and drop them into the ocean.

"It's the blue one up there! The one that got away!"

One of the hunters aimed a dragon-prof chain at Blueberry and fired it, but Goblin deflected the chain with a lighting-charged fireball, the electricity ran through the chain back to its source, destroying the weapon in the process.

When the deck of the ship was clear, Hiccup and Astrid landed their dragons on top of it and got off, heading towards the door that led below deck. "We have to be careful, these dragons are likely to show hostility to humans."

Astrid nodded as they made their way below deck. Like Hiccup expected, the feathered dragons shrieked at them, cowering further into their cells, their crests and feathers bristled.

"It's okay, we won't hurt you." Astrid whispered to the ones in the nearest cage as she opened it. "Go on, you're free!"

The Skybiters seemed confused for a few seconds, but when they realized the door was open and there were none of the guards around, they scrambled to get out of the cage, shrieking excitedly. Hiccup and Astrid opened the other cages, releasing the rest of the Skybiters and nearly being trampled a few times, but as they got to the final cage, they saw no dragons in there. Instead, they found a young woman about their age, maybe a little younger, who looked as though she hadn't eaten nor slept in days, and she had a few fresh wounds on her arms.

" _Quienes son ustedes_?!" she yelled at them in an unknown language.

"Don't worry, we're not your enemies!" Hiccup said, opening the door to the cage, but before he knew the girl had already lunged at him and pinned him. "Okay, I guess I'd do the same!"

"No, wait, we're here to help!" Astrid said, containing her instinct to draw her axe. If they wanted her to trust them, they needed to look as unthreatening as possible.

Nora had the feeling they were sincere, but after what she went through with those Hunters, she didn't want to take risks. " _Como se que no están con esos bastardos_?!" the girl hissed.

How she hated not to understand what she was saying. "We released the dragons! We do not hurt them!"

If this was Bluefeather's rider, there was only one way to find out. "Wait, wait! Do you recognize this?!" Hiccup took out a blue feather, from the ones the Skybiter had molted.

At the sight of the feather, Nora snatched it from Hiccup and held it as if it were a treasure. She looked at Hiccup with wide eyes. " _De donde la sacaste_?!"

"We found your dragon in Berk! He's okay, he's outside with the others! But you need to trusts us!"

Nora got off Hiccup, panting heavily. She followed Hiccup and Astrid down the empty ship, up the stairs and unto deck. However, when she saw the two featherless dragons she stepped back in fright.

"No, no, it's okay!" Astrid told her, approaching Stormfly and scratching under her chin, receiving an affectionate nudge in return. "These are our dragons. They won't hurt you!"

Though she relaxed considerably at the revelation, she still stared at Toothless and Stormfly warily. "You said… my dragon! _Donde está_?"

"He's up there." Hiccup said, only to realize the freed Skybiters were flying around in circles, all colors and sizes mixed with one another, shrieking among them. He managed to catch a glimpse of Fishlegs and Heather trying to find Bluefeather among all the storm of colorful feathers. "…Somewhere."

Nora let out a shriek-like yell. Toothless and Stormfly perked up their heads curiously. Above them in the hurricane of dragons, there was a reply. Nora yelled again, and there was another reply as a blur of distinctive blue feathers flew down and landed on the ship's deck, running straight towards Nora.

" _MORAZUL_!" she cried out, running towards the Skybiter and embracing him tightly. The dragon purred contently as he sat down to receive her affection. " _Mi Morazul, te encuentras bien_ …"

Hiccup and Astrid were moved at the reunion, but they also knew they had to take the dragons somewhere safe. But first things first. "What's your name?" Hiccup inquired.

Once she was certain these strangers had no bad intentions, she turned to them. "My name is Nora."

"Wait, you speak our language?" Astrid inquired in surprise.

"I do to some extent. I had to make sure I could… how you…?"

"Trust us?"

"Trust you."

"Listen, Nora, it's not safe to stay here." Hiccup said, and gestured to the flock of Skybiters flying above them. "Viggo might send more ships, we have to take these dragons to a safe place."

"We have a base where they would be safe. Do you think you and your dragon could help us take them there?"

Nora seemed doubtful, but she noticed Blueberry trusted them. She guessed they must be good people if he did so, and she didn't have many options left. She nodded. "Lead the way, I will round the _Mordecielos_ up." She sighed when she saw their confused expressions. "In your language the… Hunters called them Skybiters."

By then, Fishlegs, Heather and the others were having a hard time in keeping the Skybiters under control, in part because the feathered dragons either evaded or attacked them, but they always flew in a large whirlwind-like formation.

"Well, we better go back before Snotlout receives another bite." Hiccup sighed as he and Astrid climbed unto their respective dragons. Blueberry kneeled down and allowed Nora to climb unto his back, her legs behind his wing bone, and her hands gripping the feathers on his back. All she needed was one gentle kick on the dragon's sides to make him take off.

"This is like the time we had to take the chickens back into the coop!" Ruffnut yelled.

"Except these chickens are big and can actually fly!" Tuffnut added. "It's a chickenado!"

"Are you serious?!" Snotlout yelled, partly freaked out about being surrounded by dozen of sharp teeth.

"Nah, more like a colornado!"

"Or feathernado!"

Despite the chaotic chorus of shrieks, yells and roars, Nora managed to whisper something to Blueberry, who in turn gave a loud, dominating shriek. Almost instantly, the rest of the Skybiters turned to him with slit pupils and they stopped in the air, all turning to him, flapping their wings and staring expectantly, as if waiting for something.

"Thank heaven!" Fishlegs said, uncovering his ears.

"Nora, this way!" Hiccup cried out, turning around and flying in the direction of Dragon's edge. The rest of the riders, Nora included, flew towards him, and the Skybiters in turn followed Blueberry, but much to the surprise of Fishlegs, they started accommodating in v-shaped formations, he wasn't sure if they did that on purpose or if it was an instinctive thing.

Thankfully, he'd have plenty of time to ask the new girl about it.

* * *

Things got a little chaotic when they returned. The dragons that already lived there soon started clashing with the Skybiters, in part because they saw this as territory intrusion, and much to Fishlegs' and the dragons' dismay, the first thing the Skybiters did was to look for somewhere to bathe, and Fishleg's pond and the small lakes and ponds in the island paid it dearly, soon they were left with discarded feathers floating on its surface.

Then the Skybiters started looking in the trees and bushes for fruits or vegetables of any kind, however since most of the trees were fruitless, Hiccup and the others (except for Snotlout, who vehemently refused to leave his cabin with all the Skybiters around after the episode with Blueberry) had a hard time dividing the cabbages meant only for one in enough portions to feed the abundant number of newcomers. Nora had a few berries, but she kept them out of sight knowing they would only send the Skybiters into a frenzy for a small bunch that wouldn't be enough to divide among all. Hiccup made a mental note to ask Trader Johan to bring lots of cabbages the next day. Goblin had a hard time keeping his hatchlings inside the stables when they tried to go outside to interact with the newcomers; they were still grounded, after all, and he wasn't sure if the other Skybiters would be as lenient or friendly as Blueberry just yet.

Once the Skybiters had calmed down, Nora still was a little wary of her rescuers and their dragons. However, upon seeing how close they were with their respective dragons, soon her wariness was replaced with friendliness and a surprisingly cheerful and maybe even bubbly personality. She would curiously touch Toothless and the other dragons, wondering at how come they could live 'naked', as she called their lack of plumage. Much to Astrid and Heather's amusement, she was more than happy to talk with Hiccup and Fishlegs about the Skybiters, correcting some assumptions and proportioning new information, such as the reason they made the v-formation when they flew in groups, and why they had such sharp teeth if their diet was a vegetarian.

"We call it _Fruto de roble negro_." She explained, fidgeting with the coconut-sized black fruit she had saved for Blueberry. "It's shell it's very hard, and only the Skybiters have teeth sharp enough to break it open."

Fishlegs took a closer look at the fruit, and gave it a few knocks. Indeed, it had a very hard shell. "May we give it a try? Perhaps our dragons can break them open."

Nora looked a bit reluctant, but she nodded, much to Blueberry's dismay. Fishlegs grabbed the fruit and placed it in front of Meatlug. She wagged her tail in delight, but as she grabbed it in her mouth and tried to bite it, she gave a whine of pain and let it fall to the ground. It rolled over to Toothless, who sniffed it warily with raised ears, but rather than try to break it open, instead soon he found himself playing with it as if it were a ball. Then it rolled over to Goblin, who in turn made it roll to Stormfly, and soon the dragons found themselves playing ball with the hard-shelled fruit until Blueberry could bear it no more and ran over to pick it up in his mouth despite the growls of protest he received. With a loud crunch, his teeth broke open the thick shell of the fruit, but instead of swallowing it whole, he went over to Nora and opened his mouth, offering her some of it. Much to the shock and dismay of Fishlegs, Nora grabbed some of the fruit from the dragon's mouth and started _eating_ it, despite the fact it was covered in her dragon's saliva.

Nora held a bit out. "Would you like to try it?"

Fishlegs just stared at the saliva-covered fruit with a nervous smile. "N-No, thanks. I'm quite allergic to dragon saliva… And it's too bad, because it does look… tasty."

Nora shrugged and ate the rest of the fruit.

At nightfall, the riders had gathered in the hall, the dragons in the stables, except for Toothless and Blueberry, the latter in part because he refused to let Nora out of his sight. The Skybiters had all gathered in one part of the forest as soon as the sun started to set, and by the time it got dark they were all on the ground, either asleep or doing something else, but they never took off into the air.

"It's because _Mordecielos_ don't see well at night." Nora explained as she continued to devour the roasted fish. "When they see the sun is setting, they all go back into their nests for the rest of the night and will not fly until morning." She internally laughed at how Fishlegs continued to scribble in the tome where dragon information was written.

"And tell me, is it pretty common for those overgrown chickens to bite at people's rears?!" Snotlout asked, pointing at Blueberry resentfully.

"Snotlout, would you get over it?!" Astrid snapped. "You've been complaining about that for two days, and besides you brought it upon yourself!"

Nora frowned at Snotlout. "You _don't_ pluck a _Mordecielos's_ feathers! It's like plucking a bunch of your hair off your scalp! Would you like that?"

Tuffnut enthusiastically lifted his hand. "Oh, I want to do it!"

"So…" Hiccup decided to change the topic. "Where are you from?"

"I come from a faraway land, some call it _Nuevo Mundo_." Nora explained. "It's a large continent, much larger than all your archipelago's islands put together in one land mass. The part where my people lives it's a jungle, a paradise on the earth, very different from here."

"Are there more feathered species?" Fishlegs asked.

"More feathered dragons apart from the Mordecielos? Yes, many."

"Oooh! Would you mind describing them to me?"

"I think she'll have plenty of time later, Fishlegs." Heather said, laughing at his antics.

Blueberry was curled up around Nora, twitching his ears whenever she talked.

"For how long have you known your dragon?" Astrid asked curiously.

At that, Nora stroked behind Blueberry's ear, and he ruffled his plumage in delight. "It's been eight years since we met."

"That's a long time." Hiccup commented in awe.

"In my culture, each person meets their own ' _guardián'_ when they turn ten. We are incomplete until we have acquired our own dragon. Once the bond is forged, the Mordecielos will fly with one single person for the rest of their lives."

"That kind of explains why Blueberry never let us ride him." Fishlegs added. Whenever any of the other humans tried to ride Blueberry, he would shriek and flap his wings at them to make them step back, or run off until he was sure they had forgotten the idea.

"What about your naked dragons?" it was Nora's turn to ask. "For how long."

"Well, it's a long story." Astrid said. "We didn't ride dragons a few years back, we were in a war."

"But then we learned they were intelligent and loyal creatures." Hiccup said, hugging Toothless when he came closer and rubbed his head against his frame in a display of affection. "We've been together ever since."

"And how did you and your blue chicken get caught by the Hunters?" Snotlout asked.

At the mention of the Hunters, Nora stiffened. "I tried to follow their ship and find a way to release the captured _Mordecielos_ , but an arrow struck Morazul, and he suddenly he behaved strangely. He lost control of his flight and plummeted to the water, and when those men pulled us unto the deck of the ship he didn't fight, he looked as if he was sick…"

"Their arrows are coated in dragon root." Fishlegs explained.

"Dragon root?"

"It's a plant that causes dragons to become aggressive, but in this case its processed and used to knock out dragons off the sky unharmed, but it leaves them in a dazed state and they cannot move."

Nora continued with her tale. "I was kept separated from Morazul all the time, all the while watching how those _bastardos_ tortured the _Mordecielos_ , plucking off their feathers and rendering them flightless. Everytime I refused to tell them how to capture more _emplumados_ , they took one dragon away and I never saw it again. But I could hear its screams of pain as they tortured it…" By then, Nora was hugging her knees, sniffling when the remembered the experience. Blueberry noticed and wrapped a wing around her, purring.

"It's okay, it's all over." Heather said, though Blueberry being curled up around Nora in a protective way prevented her from going over to sit down next to her. "You're safe now."

"And what will you do now?" Hiccup inquired.

"I have to go back home. The Mordecielos will not last long around these parts, they won't be able to find the plants they eat."

"Wait, you want to go alone? Do you know in which direction to go?"

"Its okay, Blueberry knows the way back home."

"We could go with you!"

Everyone glanced at Fishlegs in surprise. He fidgeted with the Book of Dragons nervously. "I mean, the way back must be very dangerous! You might need help, and if you say there are dragon hunters in your land too, maybe you could use some of our help."

"Well, it's been a long day, everyone. How about we go sleep?"

Fishlegs was partly thankful Hiccup pointed it out, and Nora couldn't apparently agree more. However, she didn't move from her spot, she merely snuggled against Blueberry's plumage as he covered her with his wing and lay his head on his paws, falling asleep.

As the group walked out of the hall, Hiccup and Astrid took Fishlegs aside while the others went to their cabins. "What was that for, Fishlegs?" Hiccup inquired, crossing his arms.

"Well, it was only a suggestion!"

"Fishlegs, as much as the idea of going a new place sounds appealing, we can't just leave the Edge unguarded for Thor knows how much time!" Astrid pointed out. "The Hunters could come at any moment."

Fishlegs insisted. "But we don't know how far her land is, what if something happens to her? Or the Skybiters?"

"That's a good point, but Astrid's right. We can't leave the Edge unprotected."

"The auxiliary riders could set up a defense perimeter, but just imagine it! There's a whole new world out there, and new dragons who might need out help! If what Nora says is right, then Viggo and Ryker are not the only hunters!"

"We can figure it out in the morning. Perhaps Nora can tell us how far it is, and if it would be okay for her."

With that in mind, they headed over to their respective cabins to sleep.


	7. Skybiters

By the time the sun was just rising, Nora had recuperated a bit, and she got a good night's sleep for the first time in days. Blueberry lifted his head, opening his mouth in a long yawn and then lifted his wing to see if she had awakened, and she similarly stretched out her limbs. She groggily made her way back to her feet to properly stretch out her body.

" _Buenos días_ , _Morazul_." She said, gently grabbing Blueberry's head and scratching right under his chin, earning a purr of delight just as the blue dragon bristled his plumage from relaxation. "How about we go for a morning flight and then we go check on the other _Mordecielos_?"

Blueberry chirped in delight, and lay down to allow Nora to climb unto his back. As soon as he felt her toes gently touching his sides, he ran of the club house and spread out his wings, taking off with a powerful flap. Overall, he was delighted at feeling the weight of his rider on his back once again, and he let her know by twirling in the air and giving shrieks of delight. Nora laughed and led her dragon soar freely through the air, but it would be best if she checked the other dragons and make sure they were all in condition to fly all the way back home.

At this hour, it was probable most of them were already awake, anyway.

Nora had Blueberry turn around towards the forest where they had taken the Skybiters the previous day. Blueberry's ears twitched when he heard the familiar growls and squawks. Though they had awakened, almost all of them were still on the ground, most of them preening themselves or each other. A few younger ones were running around in play.

Blueberry gave a loud squawk to announce his presence, and the Skybiters moved away to give him some space, allowing him to land. Blueberry heard a different noise, and turned towards one of the bushes, hearing a familiar voice.

"What's wrong, _Morazul_?" Nora asked him, but it only took her a while to figure it out. She climbed down from Blueberry's back, but rather than going to the safety of the flock, Blueberry ran towards the bushes and jumped into the bushes, there was a small scuffle and a yelp as a large figure was abruptly pushed out of the bushes.

"Sorry, didn't mean to intrude!" Fishlegs cried out in dismay as Blueberry pushed him out of his hiding spot. However, other than that the blue Skybiter showed no aggression towards him, rather he looked surprised. Meatlug came out of the bushes, looking as friendly as ever. Fishlegs glanced at Nora with his face red.

"I'm sorry!" he apologized, standing up. "It's just, well, since you will be leaving soon, I thought I could finish documenting the Skybiters!"

"Oh." Nora shrugged. "Don't worry, I was going to check if they are in condition to travel, anyway. You could lend me a hand." She couldn't help but giggle when Fishlegs squealed in delight.

By then, Blueberry had already rushed towards the other Skybiters, bristling his plumage and making a few squawks.

"He's asking the other _Mordecielos_ to groom him." Nora explained. "There are parts they cannot reach, and they ask other members of their flock for help."

Fishlegs was enthusiastically writing the information down on the Book of Dragons, including a small sketch of Blueberry being groomed in the upper part of the wing and the back by an emerald green Skybiter. Meatlug enthusiastically ran towards them to see if they would groom her, but the wild Skybiters shrieked in surprise and stepped back, bristling their crests as a warning. Meatlug stepped back sadly.

"Don't worry, _nena_ , they're not used to featherless dragons, that's all." Nora said, patting Meatlug's side gently. "But they are actually very social." She turned to Fishlegs again. "I need help to check their wings and their condition. If they lack too many they won't be able to fly properly, and if they are ill they might not endure the whole way back." She went over to one of the wild Skybiters, a female with a similar shade of blue to Blueberry, but her wing feathers and paws were bright yellow. She stepped back with bristled plumage, hissing as a warning. Blueberry shrieked at the female with his own plumage bristled, but settled down when Nora lifted up a hand in his direction, telling him wordlessly that everything was okay. It was natural they were so distrustful of humans after what they went through with the Hunters.

Nora made a few sounds with her throat, squawk-like groans that sounded similar to the Skybiters' own. The female perked up her ears and her plumage pressed down against her body once more, she stretched out her neck to sniff out Nora with a raised crest. All the while, Fishlegs momentarily left his scribbling to stare in awe at the scene.

"I just let her know I'm not an enemy, if I make the right vocalizations she will lay down and let me approach." Nora explained.

Just like she just said, the Skybiter lay down, purring, her pupils two perfect ovals. Nora ran her hands down her neck and back, carefully examining the condition of her plumage, and then she gently rubbed on the wing joint, asking her to stretch out her wing, which the female did. "When _Mordecielos_ rub another's wing joints, they are saying they want to groom their wings. You have to rub it very gently." She proceeded to take examine her wing feathers, and thankfully she wasn't lacking any of the primary flight feathers.

Intrigued, Fishlegs momentarily placed the Book of Dragons aside and approached a brown Skybiter male who turned to him, and made the same warning posture the blue female had made to Nora. Fishlegs attempted to repeat the squawking-like noises Nora made, but the Skybiter's pupils turned into slits and gave a loud shriek with stretched out wings. Fishlegs yelled in fright and ran away from the male, while Meatlug instantly ran between them and growled at the Skybiter with slit pupils, protecting her rider. The wild male simply snorted and trotted away.

"Are you okay?!" Nora asked him as she ran towards him.

"I think so!" Fishlegs replied, panting heavily from the experience. "Did I do something wrong?"

"You have to make the right vocalizations. Unlike most other dragons, _Plumíferos_ communicate more vocally, apart from their body language. They have a set of unique calls and sounds to distinguish one another, even though to the human ears all their vocalizations sound alike."

"Wait a second, now that I recall, back on the ship you didn't call Blueberry by his name. You made a loud squawing and he was the only one who flew down to greet you."

"Among my people, each rider shares a unique call with their dragon, they can distinguish their riders' call from hundreds, and we can distinguish our dragons' call from thousands of them."

"That's interesting!" Fishlegs went back to scribbling in the Book of Dragons. "But wait, how can I help if I can't do the right vocalizations?"

"Leave the vocalizations to me. To check on their health, touch their plumage. If it's soft and shiny, they are healthy, if its opaque and raggedy, they are not in a good condition."

For the rest of the morning, they checked on the wild Skybiters to see if they were in condition to travel. Both Nora and Fishlegs would approach a small group, and Nora would make the vocalizations to have the Skybiters lay down. Then she and Fishlegs would pick one and examine their plumage and wings. Sadly, most of the Skybiters had opaque feathers, which meant they were weak and in no condition to travel for long. Others had many primary flight feathers missing, which would make this more difficult for them. However, the main problem was that most of them looked very thin, they hadn't been well fed or the Hunters didn't give them the proper food.

They were just finishing on the last dragon when Astrid arrived on top of Stormfly. "Fishlegs! Nora! Trader Johann is here, and he brought the cabbage for the Skybiters!"

"Thank you, Astrid!" Fishlegs waved back at her as she flew back to the Edge, then he looked at Nora. "We should go and disembark those cabbages before the Skybiters tear apart Johann's boat in their hurry."

"Who is this… Johann?"

"He's a merchant who often travels to Berk. You'll like him! He's a nice guy, even though sometimes he doesn't know what's going on around him."

Nora was still uncertain, but still she got unto Blueberry and followed after Fishlegs.

* * *

After managing to drag Snotlout out of his cabin, the riders proceeded to unload the cabbages, tomatoes and other vegetables from Johann's ship and up unto to the Edge. Soon after, Blueberry emitted a loud call, it didn't pass much time before the rest of the Skybiters appeared in the sky and flew towards them. As soon as they saw the vegetables, the feathered dragons erupted into a chaos of shrieks and roars as they rushed towards the vegetables. They started devouring the green food, often bickering between each other and snatching the food away, causing even more arguing amongst themselves.

The other dragons (mostly Toothless, Meatlug and Stormfly) tried to interact with their feathered visitors, but the Skybiters were wary about the 'naked' dragons and kept their distance. A few, though, perhaps the younger ones, became increasingly curious about them and warily approached to sniff them out warily. Toothless even went as far as to offer them a tree branch to draw with, but the Skybiters just nibbled and fidgeted with it, unsure as to what to do with it.

" **They surely are talkative…** " Hookfang said in dismay.

" **Our communication depends on being able to distinguish our calls from one another, so yes**." Blueberry explained as he ate a good, red tomato.

Goblin saw Syrilth talking with one of the Skybiters. " **Syrilth, let him eat**!"

" **I'm a female**." The red Skybiter said curtly with a frown. Syrilth had to contain a snicker when he saw his father's embarrassed expression.

Hookfang shrugged. " **Sorry, hard to tell with all those feathers**."

" **Rather, I'm surprised you have not frozen to death without any plumage at all**." The female retorted as she walked away.

Just then, another Skybiter was running from Meatlug, who was chasing after him wagging her tail. " **Stay away**!"

" **Please! I want to try the grooming thing**!" Meatlug was crying out.

" **Meatlug, you realize that you can't be groomed if you lack feathers to groom at all, right**?" Goblin pointed out to her matter-of-factly.

Meanwhile, Fishlegs and Hiccup discussed with Nora about the Skybiters's condition. Unfortunately, most of them were thin and weak, and wouldn't be able to travel for a few more days. She had the feeling Fishlegs was happy, he'd get to study the Skybiters a little more meanwhile.

"So, Nora, how far is your home from here?"

"It's about five six days of travelling southwest, more if we have to stop to rest. But we leave before the winter comes. Skybiters are not meant to dwell in snow and ice."

"Don't all those feathers keep them warm?" Snotlout muttered, kicking the downy feathers away with his foot irritably.

Nora shook her head. "There's no snow in my land. It's a tropical jungle, and from what I've heard you get terrible blizzards around here often. It would kill the Skybiters."

"In how many days do you think they will be ready to go?" Hiccup asked.

"It depends. If we manage to feed them properly, in a week they should be healthy enough for the whole way back."

Stormfly approached one of the younger Skybiters with a cabbage in her maw. The young red male squawked and approached her, making caw-like growls and opening his mouth, sticking out his tongue. Stormfly just looked at him in confusion. "He's asking for food." She raised her voice enough for the Nadder to hear her. Stormfly understood and let the cabbage fall into the Skybiter's mouth, but it was too large for it to swallow it whole, and it let it fall to the ground, hissing and bristling its plumage.

"Who would have thought?" Heather wondered outloud in wonder. "All this time, there are people who have trained dragons long before we did."

Nora couldn't help but shiver in discomfort at this. "You mean when you killed dragons?"

"That's all in the past. Now we train dragons and protect them from people like Viggo." Hiccup said confidently, hoping it would make her feel more comfortable.

"Hey, do you think we could somehow get to ride one of the Skybiters?" Fishlegs chirped in delight. "I mean, you know, in the name of science!"

Nora couldn't help to chuckle at his enthusiasm. "I'm afraid once you tame a Skybiter, they bond to you for life and will not want to leave you. However, you can fly _Morazul_."

Blueberry growled in dismay while bristling all his plumage. Nora approached him and stroked his head. "It's okay, _Morazul_." She then glanced at the riders. "Who wants to go first?"

Snotlout walked away from the Skybiter, back to his cabin. "Not me, thank you very much! I don't want his teeth near my body!"

"Maybe Fishlegs should go." Hiccup said.

"Are you sure?" Fishlegs inquired. "You could give it a try too…"

Hiccup smiled and nodded. Fishlegs squealed in delight and approached, but Blueberry bristled his feathers slightly, growling. Nora pulled his head closer and whispered something into his ear; afterwards, he calmed down, though he didn't remove his gaze off Fishlegs. Nora ran her hand down the Skybiter's neck, and he responded by lying down. Once he was sure Blueberry wouldn't bite him, Fishlegs carefully went to the dragon's side and climbed on top of him with a bit of difficulty, with his legs behind the wings just like he had seen Nora do it.

"Flying him won't be different from how you fly your dragon. Grab unto the feathes, but whatever happens **don't** pull them, _Morazul_ won't like it. And since you're me, he will probably try to bite you or throw you off."

Fishlegs gulped. He didn't know which would be worse, being thrown off or receiving a bite like Snotlout. All he had to do was avoid pulling the feathers; it wasn't a big deal.

"Be gentle wit him, _Morazul_." Nora told her dragon sternly. "Don't scare the underworld out of him."

Blueberry squawked, but didn't give Fishlegs time to get ready as he took off. Fishlegs yelled in fright and clung to the feathers; Meatlug instantly flew after the blue Skybiter just in case Fishlegs needed any assistance. Once Blueberry stabilized in the air, Fishlegs started to enjoy the experience; he noted how comfortable Blueberry's back was without a saddle, probably because of his plumage.

"Blueberry, do you think I could take a closer look at your layers of feathers? I won't pluck any, I promise!"

Blueberry seemed to ponder for a moment, and after a few seconds gave a wary purr of approval. Fishlegs carefully started to examine beneath the upper blue feathers, and like he suspected, he found gray down feathers hidden underneath. "Interesting! You have another layer of feathers underneath your blue plumage, but these look different…" he gently ran a finger on the down, and noticed it was fluffier, and this layer of down grew over the flesh. "These feathers must serve as a sort of insulation in case of heat loss, it's almost as if you had a natural sweater!"

Blueberry rolled his eyes, snorting. However, he perked his ears when he spotted a seagull, flying just above, and shrieked as he flapped his wings rapidly, flying up to catch it, almost knocking the surprised Fishlegs off his back.

"Whoa! Blueberry!" Fishlegs panicked and again clung to his plumage, careful not to pull on them. Thankfully, though, Blueberry was so drawn into going after the seagull he didn't really mind. Meatlug panicked and flew after him, but as much as she tried, she couldn't catch up to the more agile Skybiter. "Do you think you could lower the speed a bit?!"

Blueberry ignored him and dove after the seagull. Fishlegs inadvertently touched Blueberry's right wingbone with his leg, causing the dragon to spin as he dove as a response. Yelping, Fishlegs removed his leg and Blueberry stabilized himself, but he looked back at Fishlegs, bristling his crest while giving him a frustrated growl.

"Sorry!"

Before Blueberry could complain any further, suddenly he saw a shadow cast into one of the clouds, signaling something was flying above them. Instantly his pupils became slits and he twirled to face upwards, shooting a blue fireball at the caster. Fishlegs wasn't prepared for such a maneuver, and fell off when Blueberry twirled; he yelled in fright as he plummeted down, but thankfully Meatlug had finally managed to catch up, and caught her rider just in time.

Blueberry dove down back to the ground and gave a loud shriek; instantly, the other Skybiters frightened and took off, flying towards the forest. Blueberry, however, landed and ran towards Nora, glaring up at the sky.

"What was that about?!" Fishlegs asked, still recovering from the experience, as soon as he landed.

Hiccup had been staring in confusion at the forest, to where the Skybiters had disappeared. "What happened up there?" He asked finally.

"We were flying, but suddenly he twirled to fire at the sky and knocked me off in the process."

"Did you see a shadow being cast unto the clouds?" Nora inquired.

"Well, now that you mention it, I think I _did_ see a shadow…"

"He acted on instinct. A dragon that attacks from above preys upon _Mordecielos_ , the only thing its victim sees is their shadow. Whenever they see a shadow of something flying above them, _Mordecielos_ will try to attack it and flee, then they alert the other _Mordecielos_ of the danger."

"Wait, if he saw a shadow, then it means…"

Before Hiccup could finish the sentence, Skullcrusher landed a few feet away, and a not-very-happy Stoic dropped down. "In the name of Odin!" he growled, walking towards the group, while giving the blue Skybiter an irritated look. "Could you put a leash on that overgrown parrot?"

Nora frowned in response. "You flew above him and frightened him."

Hiccup decided to intervene before they were at each other's throats. "Whoa, whoa, let's all calm down!" He said while running in between the two parties. "Dad, this is Nora, Blueberry's rider." He then turned to Nora. "Nora, this is my dad, Chief Stoic the Vast."

Nora seemingly relaxed, but she still felt intimidated by the man's intimidating size and dragon. " _Mucho gusto_ , _señor_ Stoic."

Stoic was genuinely surprised to see the blue dragon's rider was such a young woman. "I must admit, I imagined you'd be… older."

"Dad, Nora says she will take the Skybiters back to their homeland, but Fishlegs insists it's dangerous that she goes alone… Well, actually, he does have a good point."

"Son, are you saying what I think you're saying…?"

"It's not certain! I mean, we all know it wouldn't be as easy as Fishlegs makes it sound, there's the dragon hunters around here…"

"Hiccup, how about we talk this over with the others before you reach any conclusion?" Stoic then glanced at Nora. "You could also inform us of your… trip properly."

Blueberry perked up his ears and watched as Nora followed the Stoic and the reluctant Hiccup towards the main cabin. He wondered what they would talk about, but he had the feeling it would have something to do with the journey back home. Blueberry took off and flew towards the stables.

He had the feeling the other dragons would be interested in hearing how the conversation played out.


	8. Departure

" **What are they saying?** "

Toothless hissed. " **Shut up, you don't let me hear**!"

" **Why are we spying on them, again**?" Blueberry inquired.

" **We have to know if we'll accompany you back home**." Hookfang responded.

Since Toothless had the most acute hearing (and was the only dragon with actual ears), sometimes he overheard what Hiccup and the others discussed from the top of the meeting cabin, while the other dragons waited on top of the roof.

" **What are they saying so far?** " Meatlug inquired.

" **Well, Fishlegs continues to insist that we shouldn't let Nora go such a far distance alone, and unsurprisingly, Heather agrees**."

" **What are you insinuating?** " Goblin asked, annoyed.

" **Nothing at all**." Toothless leaned in closer to the door again. " **Hiccup says we cannot leave Dragon's Edge unprotected for who knows how much time… Ah, but Stoic seems to actually… agree in a way with Fishlegs. It could be a chance to gain more allies**."

" **Heck, what about** _ **us**_ **?** " Barf said. " **They're not the only ones with families, you know.** "

" **They can take care of themselves**." Said Hookfang. " **Besides, they will soon be in age of leaving the nest**."

Toothless continued to eavesdrop the conversation, hearing how the humans argued the cons and pros of doing such a journey, while Nora kept insisting she'd be fine, that Blueberry would take care of her. Soon enough, though, the discussion was coming to an end.

" **Interesting**."

" **What**?" Goblin asked.

" **Guys, we should pack up. It seems we're going on vacation**."

* * *

During the week they waited for the Skybiters to recover, the riders made arrangements before leaving. Team A would divide in two groups, one would protect Berk, and the other would make sure everything was going smoothly on Dragon's Edge, and both groups would alternate. Additionally, Queen Mala also sent some of her warriors to look after the dragons and protect Dragon's Edge. By then, the Skybiters spent most of their time in the forest to avoid so many humans.

However, Goblin, Stormfly and Hookfang were particularly stressed out due to the presence of their hatchlings, especially when their mates came in one of the shift changes in Team A, following them to find Dragon's Edge. The little ones got the scolding of their lives for risking themselves like that.

There were various reactions among the riders of the journey. Hiccup and Astrid were still reluctant to travel so far, Fishlegs and Heather were thrilled at the prospect of meeting new dragons and people, while Snotlout and the twins were on a sort of neutral ground.

As days passed, the Skybiters slowly regained their strength, and little by little their plumage started regaining their lost shine, and they became livelier. Soon, they were strong enough to withstand the whole way back.

The day of their departure, everyone awoke at dawn, though Snotlout had to be dragged out of his cabin by Hookfang, As Nora explained, it usually took five days of flying southwest to reach the New World, but given that they'd have to stop at night because of the Skybiters, maybe it would take them a bit longer. The riders packed up the necessary provisions, adjusted saddles, and Hiccup of course couldn't forget Toothless's tailfins, and spare legs, as well as Hiccup's recently-finished Dragon Eye.

Just in case. Who knows? Surely there was an eye for the Feathery Class somewhere.

Before departing, Goblin, Stormfly and Hookfang said goodbye to their mates, and their still-grounded offspring. Pearl, however, acted particularly distant and angry with her father, and didn't look at him despite his attempt at softening up. Sleuther was put in charge on the dragons' side, given that he already knew how things worked around here.

Just like when they were rescued, the Skybiters flew in v-shaped formations, all following Blueberry, who was flying at the front with Nora, leading the way. Snotlout did his best to keep away from the Skybiters.

Just like Nora said, the way was long and very hard. It turned out they had to cross a whole ocean, and it wasn't easy to find someplace to rest at night, or when the dragons grew tired. There weren't many islands in the open ocean, and whatever island they could find was small, and the numerous Skybiters barely fit in it, much to Snotlout's distaste.

A few days later after their departure, they stopped to rest in one of the few islands they found in the seemingly endless waters. Hopefully, it was large enough to house most of the group. It had a small freshwater lake too, but the Skybiters used it as their bathtub as soon as they spotted it. Good thing Hiccup and Fishlegs brought extra freshwater in case this happened.

The group started a campfire a few meters away from the lake, where the Skybiters were still gathered, preening themselves and each other. Meanwhile, Ruffnut and Tuffnut continued to collect feathers of different sizes and colors, and surprisingly, Nora joined them. Though her motives for wanting the feathers were very different.

"If I have to fly one more day, I think I'm going to bury myself a grave!" Snotlout complained.

Hookfang snorted and thought. " _ **What does he complain about? I'm the one who does the flying around here**_!"

"How long do you think I'll get us to get there?" Heather asked Nora, who was busy doing… something with the shed feathers. "Er… Nora?"

"If the weather is clear, we should we arriving at the _Nuevo Mundo_ tomorrow."

"Thank Thor! I don't think the dragons can fly for too long after these days." Astrid point out, stroking Stormfly's head.

"Speaking of which, what are you doing with that?" Hiccup asked curiously when he saw the feather thing Nora was handling.

"Well, Ruffnut and Tuffnut mentioned they wanted to make feather clothing, so I'm lending them a hand." Nora said, and held up a strange hat with a long crest of red and yellow feathers. "What do you think? My people make clothing like this for special ceremonies."

Fishlegs chirped excitedly. "Ohh, may I try it?"

Nora giggled and handed him the feather hat. Fishlegs took off his helmet and put the feather crown instead. "How do I look?"

"Well, do you want honesty, or kindness?" Snotlout said. "You look ridiculous. What kind of ceremony do you use that for? The 'King of Fools' ceremony?"

Nora frowned. "The coming-of-age rite in which each warrior is officially bonded with his dragon, his other half."

"Other half? So your people has been taming dragons for a long time?" Hiccup asked, fascinated.

"The _Mordecielos_ were a gift to humanity from the great Quetzalcóatl. In exchange for this gift, the people would make the Gods blood sacrifices, just as the gods themselves had used their own blood to give us life."

The teens felt a bit… nervous when she mentioned 'blood sacrifices'. However, they didn't wish to somber the moment by asking what those sacrifices were about. Just then, Tuffnut emerged from the forest, coughing loudly to call their attention. He wore a strange shirt made from blue and purple plumage.

"Vikings and…" he thought of a proper name to call Nora. "…Outsiders, may I present to you the new Thorston collection: rainbow chicken!"

Ruffnut cried out from the bushes. "Hey, we said it would be called 'color storm'!"

"Well, you look more like a chicken than a storm, really!"

"Oh, yeah?" Ruffnut stomped out of the bushes, wearing a skirt made from different colored feathers. "Well, you look like you're wearing Chicken's feathers drenched in cheap blue paint!"

"Hey, take that back! I wouldn't use cheap paint on Chicken!"

With that, they started to argue again.

A few hours later, when everyone was asleep and the fire had died down, Goblin was the only one awake. He couldn't sleep; he was still worried about Pearl's attitude. He just couldn't understand that hatchling. Where did she get that behavior from, or did she learn it from someone? He was never that reckless, even back when he was in his prime, so he guessed she must have gotten it from her mother… but Quinarth had never been reckless or inconsiderate either, or maybe in her youth she was?

" **Can't sleep either**?"

Goblin snorted silently. " **I simply don't understand what's wrong with Pearl**."

Blueberry perked up his ears. " **Your daughter, right**?"

" **Yes. Lately she has been getting in much trouble, and I don't understand why she does it. She's impatient, she doesn't think things through, and she no matter what we do, she just won't listen**."

" **She's young. Perhaps it has to do with that**."

" **I want to think that too, but what if that doesn't have to do with it? What if that's just the way she is?** "

" **I wish I could give you some advice, but I haven't had the joy of fathering a clutch, so I'd be lying to you if I tried.** "

Goblin sighed sadly. " **Thanks for trying, anyway**."

" **By they way, the Toothless said you had already been in the hands of the Dragon Hunters before. What happened?** "

" **It's a long story. Heather and me were having a morning flight with Astrid and Stormfly. We heard roars of distress in the distance and went to investigate, that's when we encountered the Hunters for the first time. Sadly, at that time we had no knowledge of their special arrows, and Stormfly and I were struck**."

" **We got separated from Astrid and Heather when they both fell into the ocean, and we were dragged into the Hunters' ship. We were put in separate cages. Stormfly was often provoked into throwing spines, and most of the other dragons were treated cruelly, but I was a different story altogether. They kept me well-fed and never touched me, though my cage** _ **was**_ **filled with water. I eventually learned the rarest dragons were kept presentable for auctions and sold to collectors**."

" **It kind of explains why they never plucked my feathers**." Blueberry commented. " **Even among my kind, my coloration is rare. Only one in a thousand Skybiters is born with this type of coloration**."

" **I can tell. I've seen the other blue Skybiters, but they usually have yellow or white. You only have blue colors**." He finally let out a yawn. " **Well, I think we should go to sleep. O have the feeling we still have to fly a long way, am I right?** "

Blueberry replied with a yawn of his own. " **Yeah. But like Nora said, we should arrive tomorrow once if the climate is clear**."

With that, both dragons went back to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, the group departed at dawn, as soon as all the Skybiters were awake. Thankfully, just like Nora hoped, the climate was ideal for flying, and there was no need for stops. A few hours after departing, soon the group spotted something in the horizon; it was a massive piece of land, most of it covered in jungles and even more distant mountains. Even more incredible, it seemed to stretch endlessly with no apparent limit.

The closer they flew, the more agitated the Skybiters became, and when they were but a few kilometers away, the v-formations of Skybiters broke up and all scrambled to fly towards the continent. The Vikings had a hard time avoiding a backwards collision.

"Everyone, land on that beach!" Hiccup cried out over the shrieks.

Avoiding the fleeing Skybiters (though Hookfang and Snotlout unfortunately did collide a few times with some of the younger ones), the humans and their dragons landed on the beach while the wild Skybiters disappeared among the lush foliage and the distant sky.

"They know they are not far from home." Nora said, smiling at the sight.

The Vikings didn't listen to that proclamation; they were awing at the place. They had seen beaches before back in the archipelago, but never one like this. The ocean was a beautiful mixture of various shades of blue, and the sand was soft, warm and golden, while the white foam from the waves gathered a bit at the edge of the water. And just a few meters away started a lush jungle with a different type of trees they were accustomed to, even though they looked pretty similar.

But what called Fishlegs' attention was the large rock at one side of the beach; it had the shape of an eagle head, and its 'beak' was pointing towards the jungle, particularly at the creek that started from the ocean and turned into brackish water as it went inland, it was a sort of estuary.

"Eagle head estuary has a good ring to it…" Fishlegs muttered as he sketched this particular landscape in a different notebook he had brought.

"Well, considering we've been flying nonstop, for a week, I say we stop here for a while!" Snotlout pointed out, rubbing his sore rear from so much time on top of Hookfang. "Whoever agrees with me lift your hand!"

The twins lifted their hands in agreement, but even to even Snotlout's surprise, Astrid, Heather and Fishlegs also lifted their hands.

"I don't think it'll hurt if we take a break, right?" Astrid said. "I think the dragons _really_ need the rest."

"Nora, do you mind if we rest a bit?" Hiccup inquired. "I mean, if you're in a hurry we could always…"

"No, no, actually, _Morazul_ also will need to rest his wings." Nora responded.

Snotlout clapped his hands. "Good! If you need me, I'll be napping over there! Don't wake me up unless something happens!" With this, he headed over to some nearby palms to lie down and half-cover his eyes with his helmet.

The dragons were the first ones to lay down on the sand, panting from the long journey. While they rested, the Vikings temporally separated. Ruffnut and Tuffnut went toward Snotlout, snickering, already planning a prank. Hiccup and Astrid went to check on the dragons to make sure they were alright. Heather, Fishlegs and Nora went into the jungle to find some water for the dragons, and Fishlegs wanted to document the flora and fauna in there.

Nora led the, already feeling right at home into the jungle, followed by Heather, and lastly Fishlegs, who was writing in his notebook.

"It's really hot here!" Heather said, wiping her sweaty forehead.

"Most of this territory consist of tropical rainforests and jungles, so it's normal, especially on this time of the year. It'll get hotter the further inland we go." Nora explained.

"This time of the year? It's winter."

"There's no winter here. Only dry and rainy seasons, and right now we're in the dry season."

"Dry season means you don't get much rain, right?" Fishlegs asked excitedly.

"Yes." Nora had to admit, she was amused at the way he asked questions and then wrote her answer down, almost like a child.

"And what kind of animals do you have here?" Heather inquired.

Nora laughed. "Soon enough, you'll see."

Nora moved some leaves blocking the way aside, revealing a beautiful spring surrounded by trees, and a small waterfall falling from a small rock formation above. On the other side of the spring, white-tailed deer lifted heads in alarm at the newcomers, and galloped away from the place. On the branches, there were weird birds that were reminiscent of the Skybiters. Overall, what called their attention was the large, sturdy, spotted feline swimming around in the water.

"What's that…?" Heather said, dazzled at the animal's natural elegance and beautiful coat.

"It's the jaguar." Nora said with an air of reverence as she kneeled down, lowering her gaze to give the feline the proper respect.

Although the jaguar spotted the trio, it seemed more interested in relaxing and ignored their presence as it went out of the water and disappeared through the foliage.

Once it was gone, the trio proceeded to refill the water skins to their maximum capacity, though Nora couldn't help but take a scoopful of water with her hands to take a drink.

By the way they returned to the beach, Snotlout's body was buried under a dune of sand, while Ruffnut and Tuffnut proceeded to place a crab on top of him. Toothless was playing in the water with Blueberry, while Hookfang and Goblin were running from Meatlug and Stormfly as they tried to get them wet.

"Guys, you won't believe this! There's a beautiful spring in there, and the water is delicious!" Fishlegs cried out.

"Huh, what?" Snotlout tried to stand up, only to realize he was buried under a big pile of sand. "What the-?!" He couldn't finish the sentence before Hookfang unintentionally threw sand towards his head when trying to throw it at Stormly to keep her away. Snotlout spat the sand from his mouth and glared at his dragon. "Hookfang!"

"And there was this… big felid with spots, it was so… beautiful!"

"Whoa, whoa, is it me or you're excited about something that is not a dragon?" Hiccup said, almost laughing at the excitement.

"Sorry, but it's just…! I just can't wait to see what dragons live around here!"

"My people is settled further in land, but I must warn you." Nora said. "Your… dragons have never been seen around here, so they're likely to call unwanted attention."

"Well, as long as they don't throw spears at us or arrows at us, I think we can cope with that…" Hiccup said, a little nervously.

"So, which way to we go?" Fishlegs said, getting on Meatlug when she got closer, eager.

Nora blinked in surprise, but she giggled. "Follow me."

Snotlout managed to release his les from the twins's sand trap, but panicked when the rest of the riders got on their dragons and left. "Hookfang! Don't just stand there, get me out of here!"

Hookfang rolled his eyes and lifted his rider by the foot, releasing him from the sand. But he didn't bother to put Snotlout back in the saddle, and instead merely flew after the group, ignoring Snotlout's protests.

"So, how is your village like?" Heather asked curiously after a few minutes of flying.

"It's paradise." Nora stated. "It covers plenty of terrain, most of it was deprived of trees to make way for our agriculture fields. The main city is in the center, but there are various villages around it where the crops are grown, and a river runs through those villages to help with the crop growing."

"And where do the dragons live?" Astrid asked.

"Most of the time they reside in the jungle, but they will come when their Other Halves call for them."

"You mean they're semi-feral?" Hiccup said, curiously.

"Not exactly." Nora said. "Once the Bond has been made, it lasts for a lifetime. But the _Mordecielos_ are free-spirited, and it restraining them in any way is strongly frowned upon. Instead of putting them in cages or chains, they are allowed to roam freely in their natural environment, where they feed by themselves."

"Oh, so technically your dragons live in the wild, but they are domesticated! We're learning so much!" Fishlegs said, again scribbling in the Book of Dragons.

"What are you doing? A Book of Dragons volume 2 or something?" Snotlout asked sarcastically.

"You know, it doesn't sound like a bad idea." Ruffnut said, snickering. "A Book of dragons collection!"

"Special Edition: Feathered Dragons and Blue Chickens!" Tuffnut added, to which Blueberry responded with an annoyed shriek.

"So, what other dragons live around here?" Fishlegs inquired.

Nora explained. "Well, if remember I mentioned there was one dragon that preyed on Mordecielos?"

Before Fishlegs could reply, Toothless perked up his ears when he heard something above; not only that, but out of sudden he didn't fell the sun's rays on his back anymore. He looked down momentarily, and saw a large shadow in the shape of a bird.

Blueberry was the second to spot the shadow, and by the time he shrieked and looked upwards, the intruder dove down towards him with a loud cry and open talons.


	9. Nuevo Mundo

Blueberry barely managed to get out of the way just as a pair of sharp talons closed in thin air, and the attacker gave a loud shriek of frustration.

"What is that thing?!" Snotlout yelled.

Initially they thought it was an eagle, until they noticed it was the same size of a Typhoomerang, only slightly smaller. Most of its body was covered in milky white plumage, except for its back and tail, which were a beautiful shade of golden. Everytime it flapped its long wings, it created a powerful gust of wind that violently moved the nearby treetops.

The dragon followed Blueberry's feeling figure with its bright red eyes, and dove after him, shrieking loudly.

"Nora!" Hiccup called out. "Everyone, we have to drive that thing away!"

Toothless fired a plasma shot at the dragon, but it noticed and flapped its wings, sending another gust of wind that extinguished the fireball, and sent the riders around it flying. Unfortunately, the gust sent Fishlegs flying off Meatlug's back. "MEATLUG!" he screamed as he fell.

Before Meatlug or any of the riders could dive down to save him, the golden dragon dove down after him, stretching out its talons, and catching him into thing air.

"Fishlegs!" Heather was the first to react, and she flew Goblin after the feathered dragon, soon followed by Meatlug, and then the others.

"Oh, Thor! Oh, Thor!" Fishlegs chanted desperately as the wind buffeted his face, and noticed how the creature flew each time higher and higher, its grip on his body tight to the point he couldn't even move his arms. "I'm not tasty, whatever you are!"

"Toothless, plasma shot! Now!" Hiccup ordered. Toothless aimed at the giant dragon's torso and started charging…

"NO!"

Suddenly, Nora flew in front of them, and Blueberry stopped short, making Toothless lose concentration and swallow up his unreleased attack.

Hiccup stared at the girl in confusion. "Nora, what the-?!"

"Don't shoot it, it's sacred for my people!" she said in horror, gripping Blueberry's plumage.

"We have to save Fishlegs!" Astrid retorted, pointing at the dragon's fleeing figure.

"There are other ways to make an _Ala Dorada_ release it's prey!"

"A what?!"

"There's no time to discuss, he's getting away!" Heather said hurriedly, glancing in the direction of Fishlegs and the giant dragon.

"If we can't attack it, then we can stun it!" Hiccup said and glanced at Heather. "Heather, electro explosion!"

She nodded. "Got it! Goblin, let's do it!"

Both Toothless and Goblin hurried upwards after the _Ala Dorada_ , and aimed at its front. They shot a plasma blat and lighting beam respectively, and when they collided the explosion was powerful the enough to drive the great dragon backwards with a cry of surprise, making it lose its hold on Fishlegs.

Fishlegs screamed as he fell again, but this time, it was Goblin who caught him by the arms, and then took him back to Meatlug's back. Fishlegs immediately clung to her, hugging her tightly. "Oh, girl! I'm fine, don't worry!"

"Fishlegs, are you alright?!" Hiccup asked.

"No time to talk, it's coming back!" Snotlout aid, pointing at the _Ala Dorada_ as it dove down towards them, its pupils gone to slits. "And it doesn't look happy!"

"Dive down to the jungle! It's too big and won't be able to follow!" Nora cried out, and Blueberry dove down to the trees, soon followed by the rest. When they disappeared through the lush foliage, the golden wing halted its fall a few meters above, and continued to hover above for a few minutes, looking for any sign of its attackers. Finally, it gave up and flew away with another call.

The riders landed on the jungle floor, looking up apprehensively as the creature flew away.

"What… was… that?!" Snotlout cried out.

"You said it's an ala drada?" Tuffnut asked.

"I heard Alarada." Ruffnut retorted.

"Ala drada!"

"Alarada!"

"It's the _Ala Dorada_." Nora said sharply, partly annoyed at the lack of seriousness the twins took this with. "The messenger of the gods."

"Messenger? What did he want to say, 'you look tasty'?!" Snotlout snapped.

"You said we can't attack it, why?" Astrid asked.

"That dragon is sacred, to hunt it or harm it in any way is a capital crime punishable by death." She glanced at Fishlegs. "Remember I mentioned once that a the Mordecielos were wary of seeing shadows because of a predator?"

Fishlegs nodded slowly, still in shock from the experience. Meatlug was rubbing her head against his arm in concern.

"Think its gone?" Heather asked, looking up.

"It knows it loses its tactical advantage in the jungle, so it probably left to find another prey. Still, we should continue on foot, _Alas Doradas_ tend to stick around a place they last saw their prey in case they come out of hiding."

They made the rest of the way on foot, led by Nora, through the jungle. Hookfang in particular had trouble walking through the narrow paths and trees, but other than that the way there wasn't that hard. In fact, they saw many beautiful sights they would have missed had they gone by dragon.

Once he recovered from the rather frightening experience, Fishlegs started to write down again, alternating between his journal and the Book of Dragons, documenting as much as he could. The groups encountered many stranger animals the whole way, and while most of them went out of their way, a few others (such as the fish with sharp teeth that bit unto Tuffnut's rear, or the 'furry mini-people' that stole Snotloud's helmet and Fishlegs's journal) did give them a bit of trouble.

After what seemed like hours of walking, they arrived at the feet of a great waterfall, which formed a small spring. The thirsty dragons went over to take a drink, unaccustomed to this type of heat. Blueberry went farther and went into the water to bathe.

"How long until we get to wherever you are taking us?" Snotlout asked as he rubbed his foot, sitting on a stone. "My feet are aching!"

"What are you complaining about? At least a fish didn't take a bit off your butt!" Tuffnut stated, rubbing his rear.

"A _very_ tasty fish." Ruffnut added as she took a bite from the now-roasted _piraña_.

"We arrived at the entrance of my village." Nora explained.

"Entrance? All I'm seeing is a waterfall!" Snotlout retorted.

"It _is_ hidden, to hide the entrance from potential intruders, and it's also an allusion to the Gods of _Xibalbá_."

"Gods of what again?" Fishlegs asked, confused.

" _Xibalbá_ , the spiritual world. The place that all go to, but none may return."

Suddenly, Toothless lifted his head and raised his ears when he heard something moving in the trees, and noticed some shapes in there. " **Guys, we're being watched**. **Get ready**."

Blueberry stopped shaking in the water and twitched his ears too; he recognized the calls and silent growls from other Skybiters in the trees, realizing what was going to happen.

Toothless quickly jumped back just as some tiny spines landed at the spot he had been standing on. The other dragons, however, where not so quick and the spines dug into their bodies; they became dizzy, their eyelids became heavy and they fell to the water with a loud splash.

"What the-?!"

"The dragons are down!"

"We're under attack!"

" _Captúrenlos!"_

A dozen of men ran out of the jungle, pointing long ornamental spears at the downed dragons, while another dozen went towards the riders with sharp jade _machetes_ ,. They wore elaborate headdresses with colorful feathers, jade ornaments and skin-capes with patterns similar to the spotted cat they had seen earlier. Skybiters of multiple colors painted in red and black flew out of the trees and landed around the Vikings, bristling their feathers and baring their teeth menacingly. Toothless and Blueberry jumped in front of their riders, responding with snarls and growls of their own. When the warriors saw Toothless, they stepped back and looked as if they had seen a ghost, pointing most of the spears at him.

Astrid and Heather took out their battle axes while Fishlegs almost automatically lifted his arms, and cried. "We surrender!"

"ALTO!" Nora cried in her native language, putting herself between the spears and her friends.

Almost immediately, the men lifted their spears when they recognized her. Their apparent leader, whose headdress was of scarlet feathers, gave a small cawing sound, and the Skybiters around immediately relaxed, though they were still wary. The man stepped forward, and kneeled, followed suit by the other warriors. " _Princesa Nor'akitza_."

"What's… going… on?" Astrid said in confusion.

"Why do I have the feeling Nora is even more important than we thought?" Hiccup whispered.

" _Alteza_ , ¿ _como ha conseguido regresar_?" the man asked in the native tongue.

Nora motioned to the Vikings. " _Estas personas nos ayudaron a mi y a Morazul a escapar, y tuvieron la amabilidad de asegurarse que llegaramos con bien."_

"What do you think they are saying?" Fishlegs whispered.

"I think she's telling them that we're friends."

A few moments later, the warrior got back to his feet and approached the group of Vikings. "Who is the leader?"

Hiccup was hesitant to answer, but Astrid gently pushed him forward, and had no option but to answer when the man turned to him. "T-That would be me, mister…"

"My name is Semeel jak, head of the Jaguar Warriors. And you are…?"

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock, son of Stoic the Vast. And these are…"

"My apologies for incapacitating your… dragons." Semeel stated, staring at Toothless warily.

"Speaking of which, what did you do to them?!" Astrid cried in annoyance as she ran towards Stormfly.

Semeel Jak approached the featherless dragon carefully, and plucked the spines on its scales. A few seconds later, Stormfly blinked and started to come back to her senses. "Stormfly, you are okay!" Astrid cried in relief as she hugged the Nadder.

"They were merely put in a semi-lethargic state with special darts coated in poison dart frog venom."

"You poisoned our dragons?!" Snotlout yelled in dismay.

"The venom is lethal to humans, but it merely makes dragons drowsy and in a deep relaxation state. They will go back to normal once you pluck the darts out. Once you've done so, come along, we will take you to see the governor."

The Vikings rushed towards their dragons and plucked any spines they found on their skin, and like Semeel Jak said, soon after they awoke and went back to normal, albeit they were still a bit drowsy. Then they followed the jaguar warriors towards the waterfall, but the Skybiters took flight and flew over it.

"Dragons cannot come through here." Semeel Jak said. "They must never be underground, because it's the domain of the Lords of _Xibalbá_."

"They can follow Blueberry." Nora said when her dragon took flight, but instead of flying after the others he just hovered up above, looking down at the other dragons expectantly.

"My dragon cannot fly on his own, couldn't he come with us?" Hiccup asked, holding Toothless's head.

Semeel Jak seemed reluctant, but he relented. "Very well, but keep him close or the Lords of _Xibalbá_ will snatch him away."

The dragons were reluctant to leave their riders, but Blueberry gave an impatient cry, and they followed suit. Semeel Jak walked towards the waterfall and disappeared into the water, much to the Vikings' confusion.

"It must be a system of caverns behind the waterfall." Fishlegs concluded.

Nora followed Semeel Jak into the waterfall, and soon after the others followed, though they got soaked in the process, but Ruffnut and Tuffnut found it funny, and went through the waterfall a few more times before Toothless lost his patience and brought them over rather forcefully by their shirts.

Like Fishlegs assumed, they emerged into a large, dark cave that was only partly illuminated by the light coming through the waterfall. A naturally carved path of rock led towards a small dock, where a few, long boats were docked.

Hiccup, Astrid, Toothess, Nora and Semeel Jak went on the first boat. Heather, Fishlegs and the twins got on the second with one of the warriors, and the rest of the warriors got on the rest of the longboats. The boats were led forward with long pole; Semeel Jak rowed the boat, leading the others through the underground passage. The boats advanced slowly, and eventually passed through a set of tall, thick pillars made of stone, which apparently were responsible for keeping the roof of the passage up, judging by how the rowers of the boats tried not to touch them.

After what seemed like hours, the Vikings spotted a sort of entrance up ahead from which light filtered through hanging tendrils of plants. As the boats were led through the handing plants, they had to cover their eyes momentarily because of the light. However, when their vision adjusted, they gasped in awe at the sight.

Up ahead across the long river, there was a large sort of village made mostly out of houses, built on top of stone foundations with wooden walls and straw rooves, surrounded mostly by the lush foliage of the jungle. As they advanced through the river, though, they soon noticed there was a large area devoid of trees and instead occupied by acres of crop fields, most of them filled with crops of maize and corn, among various other crops the Vikings had never seen before. Even deeper inland, they noticed strange structures shaped like sort of pyramids painted in bright red.

The people around town had mostly dark complexion and black hair, like Nora and the warriors, but their clothing were different. While Nora's clothing was colorful, and the warriors used ornamental attires, most of the population had simple clothing; women had loose blouses and long skirts with colorful woven slashes in some cases, while men used only loin clothing, leaving their torsos exposes. They wore no boots, instead they used sandals.

As they approached the docks near the village, the citizens warily approached when they saw the _Jaguar_ warriors were bringing newcomers, but almost immediately stepped back in fright when they spotted Toothless.

"Those guys clearly don't have a sense in fashion." Ruffnut muttered, waving a hand in an almost disdainful way, only to grin a few seconds later. "Where can I get those shoes?"

"Do you want us beheaded?!" Snotlout hissed, glancing back at the warriors. "Besides, with those shoes I bet you'd get frostbite!"

Astrid noted how the natives were staring fearfully at Toothless. "Hiccup, is it my imagination, or are those people staring at Toothless as if they had seen a ghost?"

"The warriors also did it back there, when they first saw him," Hiccup whispered. "I know they haven't seen featherless dragons, but they didn't look at the other dragons like that."

The conversation was interrupted when the longboats finally touched land, and their passengers got off. Toothless stretched out his wings and gave a yawn, causing the multitude gathered around them to step back in fear; Toothless realized he was being stared at, and stepped back shyly, sensing the villagers' distrust and fear.

"Excuse me, where did our dragons go?" Heather asked Nemeel Jak, looking around and noticing there were no dragons around.

"The dragons make their nests outside the village, in the roots of the sacred _Ceiba_." Nemeel Jak explained. "You can rejoin with your other halves later, first we must take you to the _Kuhul_."

"Right…" Hiccup muttered awkwardly, having no idea of what it meant.

"The ruler of this city," Nora explained. "My father."

The group was led through the earth-paved road through the village, followed by the villagers at a good distance, most of them whispering about Toothless. The Vikings noted they were being led towards the pyramid-like structures, and the closer they got, the more the architecture changed.

Soon the dirt-path turned into white stone path, and the wooden houses changed into limestone houses with ornamental paintings, and the pyramid structures were the most complex-painted buildings.

The people that lived in this area also had different types of clothing than the villagers. Their hair was longer, their clothing was far more colorful, and they were adorned with jewels, feathers, fancy sandals, piercings and earrings in ears; their heads were adorned with tall headdresses made from jade and feathers. They were mostly surrounded by individuals who were dressed similarly to the villagers.

Unlike the village, there were dragons around in the village. Like the people in this part of the city, they were adorned with jade ornaments, decorative feathers and paints of different colors to complement their plumage. They were lunging around in the tops of the houses and buildings, staring uninterested as the newcomers.

"Why do I get the feeling these guys are the higher-ups around here?" Snotlout whispered, leaning in closer to Heather.

"If they are, then don't say anything reckless," Heather responded sharply. "Lets you want us arrested."

"Come on, we have the princess on our side, I don't think those guys will dare to lay their fancy hands on us."

Fishlegs was excitedly writing and scribbling all he was seeing in his journal. "Seriously, must you write even now?" Astrid asked him in dismay.

"We've just encountered a new civilization, it's the discovery of a lifetime!" Fishlegs chirped happily, sketching one of the jeweled dragons on the houses.

Eventually, they came to a large plaza, at least it looked like a plaza, in front of the tallest pyramid. The multitude stopped when the Vikings were ordered to halt at the steps of the pyramid. One of the people who wore no colorful cothing or jewels ran towards Semeel Jak, only to stop a few feet away with his head looking down, not looking at him in the eyes.

" _Infórmale al Kuhul que su hija ha regresado_." Said Semeel Jak in an authoritarian voice.

" _De inmediato, señor_." The man said, and then rushed up the stairs as fast as his shorter legs could allow him.

"How can they run up all those stairs so quickly?" Snotlout muttered.

"I bet three coins he'll trip and roll down all the way down." Tuffnut snickered.

"Make it five." Rufnutt added, dissimulating her laugh.

"Get ready," Nora said, looking back at the Vikings with a serious expression. "You will meet my father. Do not look at him in the eye until he deems you worthy of trust."

A few minutes later, the servant returned downstairs quickly, and much to the twins' disappointment, didn't trip on his way down. As soon as he was back at the plaza, he called out in a loud voice. " _Todos alaben al Kuhul_ _Ariché_ , _hijo de Quetzalcóatl, descendiente de los Héroes Gemelos._ "

When a figure started walking down the top of the stairs of the pyramid, the multitude of spectators immediately bowed down, looking at the ground; even the few Skybiters present bowed down their heads in respect. Semeel Jak and the Jaguar Warriors followed suit; following the example, Hiccup, Toothless and the group bowed, though Astrid had to abruptly pull Snotlout to the ground when he didn't catch on.

When the man had come closer to the ground, Hiccup could subtly take a good look at him. Like the habitants of this part of the city, his body was almost swollen in the 'luxurius', loose clothing and jewels, but his headdress was even taller than theirs, and underneath he had a build similar to the warrior's.

Walking down the stairs next to him was a Skybiter, but he was larger than Blueberry or any of the other Skybiters they had seen. His plumage was a bright gold-yellow, his body was stockier, his crest was longer, and he had another dark yellow 'mane' running down his back and tail. His head had more of an eagle-look than a macaw's. Like the other Skybiters in the area, though, he was adorned with jade and obsidian jewels and other colorful fathers, and his wings were painted in black and green swirls.

"Must be a titan wing Skybiter!" Fishlegs chirped in delight after managing to look at the Skybiter.

"Fishlegs, look down!" Heather hushed him in a hurry, not lifting her head.

"But it's a titan wing Skybiter!"

"You won't get a closer look at him if you lose you head!" Astrid hissed in dismay.

Finally, the man reached the bottom of the stairs. The only one who remained on her feet was Nora, who was both in the same social position, and related directly. Almost immediately, Nora rushed to greet her father in an embrace, against the vikings's expectations, who didn't think the man looked like that kind of person.

" _Hija mía_." Ariché said in deep relief and joy, embracing his daughter tightly.

" _Padre_!" Nora whispered, containing the need to sob. Now was not the place and time for that.

" _Tenemos mucho de que hablar. ¿Cómo has conseguido volver_?" Ariché asked once he reluctantly pulled back from the embrace to look down at his daughter.

Nora glanced back at the Vikings. " _Ellos nos salvaron a mí y a Morazul de los roba-dragones, y nos ayudaron a volver y traer a casa a los dragones capturados. Son amigos de los dragones, puedes confiar en ellos._ "

Hiccup wondered what they were saying, but didn't dare lift his head and somehow offend the king, emperor, or whatever his title meant. Still, he heard his footsteps as he approached and stopped a few steps away.

" _Levántense_."

Though he had no idea what he meant, Toothless nudging him to stand up; he figured he somehow knew what the king wanted, and went back to his feet slowly, soon followed suit by the others. The 'emperor' looked even more majestic up close.

"Excuse me, mister…" Hiccup started, only to recall he didn't exactly understand what the king's name was.

Semeel Jak intervened, though it was more to scold him for not showing the proper respect than to lend him a hand. "You will refer to Kuhul Ariché as _mi señor_ , _majestad_ , or _Kuhul_. Know your place, outsider."

"Okay, sorry, sorry, _mi… seniorr_." Hiccup mentally cursed himself for the mispronunciation.

Ariché glanced back at Semeel Jak. "There's no need to be so hard on our guests, Semeel Jak. Do not forget they have brought Nor'akitza home safe and sound."

Semeel Jak bowed his head. "Of course, _majestad_. My apologies."

Ariché glanced at the group. "You have brought my precious child back home, and she tells me you also brought back some stolen _Mordecielos_ back to their rightful home. Is this true?"

"Yes, great _Kuhul_ ," said Astrid, choosing her words carefully. "We save dragons from evil people who would use them to commit misdeeds."

"Nor'akitza says you are to be trusted, and I believe my daughter's word. From this moment, you are my honored guests until the moment you depart." Ariché then spoke in a loud voice, directing to his subjects. "¡ _Esta noche celebraremos el regreso de la princesa Nor'akitza_!"

Almost on cue, all the citizens along with the villagers gave a loud cheer that made toothless jump in surprise, and minutes later they had dispersed back to their respective areas. Hiccup noted how Ariché _had_ glanced at Toothless, but didn't seem to be frightened by him in the least, like the rest of the people. He did frown at the sight of the saddle, however, until Hiccup recalled these people did not use them.

"Let us talk privately in my residence. I wish to hear about what transpired while you were missing."

"Um, _Kuhul_ , we're a bit worried about our dragons," Heather started politely. "They left with the Skybiters, and we were told they were in the _ceiba_."

"And given they're.,. featherless, we don't know how the Skybiters might react to their presence." Hiccup added.

"I see." Ariché said, stroking his chin in thought. "Usually, the _Mordecielos_ will not come into the city if not called, especially in _this_ part. I'm afraid your dragons would make the noble houses uncomfortable, and they're already nervous about…" Ariché glanced at Toothless. "… _him_."

"With all due respect, _majestad_ , why does everyone here act as if Toothless were a monster?" Hiccup asked, rubbing his dragon's head and receiving and affectionate nudge in return. "He wouldn't hurt a fly."

" _Como se han atrevido_?!"

Suddenly, a group of elderly men, also clad in luxurious clothes, jewelry and headdresses, but they had more piercings with bones and tattoos, approached. Oddly, the guards did not intervene as they got closer. The eldest pointed at Toothless with a staff with the skull of an unknown animal on its end.

" _Estos extranjeros han traído un Camazotl a nuestra tierra!_ " he shrieked angrily. E _xijo que se les castigue!"_

" _Ese Camazotl pertenece al joven que trajo a mi hija de vuelta, X Cuat_ ," Ariché responded, not intimidated in the least. " _Y dicho Camazotl aún no ha mostrado señas de maldad._ "

" _Esta criatura nos traera desgracia tras desgracia! Los cultivos se marchitarán, nuestros niños morirán, y nos traerá un sin fín de plagas! Debe ser enviada devuelta al Xibalbá donde pertenece!_ "

Toothless didn't like the way the old man was pointing at him with the staff, and hid behind Hiccup shyly.

"How did they call Toothless?" Fishlegs inquired.

"Cama-something." Snotlout commented. "Man, they look _mad_. I wonder what they're talking about."

Seeing he was getting nowhere, the old man named X Cuat growled with contempt and gave Toothless another glare of contempt before stomping off, followed by the other elders.

"Those were the high priests," Nora explained to the group in a low voice. "Be careful around them, they have more power over the people even than my father."

"What were they calling Toothless?" Hiccup asked her.

Nora looked away, looking almost reluctant to answer. " **Camazotl**."

"What is that?"

Before Nora could answer, Ariché directed to the Vikings again. "Sorry for the interruptions, shall we go?"

"Oh, sure, let's go before any other old crazy old man comes to call us weird names!" Snotlout said loudly as he went over to the stairs, only to stop and look up, intimidated by the ridiculous amount of steps that looked endless from up close. "Aw, for the love of Thor. Where is Hookfang when you need him?"


	10. Hermosas Criaturas

**For the** _ **fifth**_ **time,** _ **stop**_ **using the comments to tell me to update other stories please! In any case, use the comments of THAT story in question, not of other stories I want to see FEEDBACK of. I will update when I can and when I have time to. I have** _ **OTHER**_ **stories that I need to focus on too, plus my real life is more important than** _ **any**_ **fanfiction I work on.**

 **To those who don't know why I'm posting this on this story, some guests have been using the comment section of my newest story,** _ **A Crocodile's Journey**_ **, to tell me to update THIS story. I do not want** _ **that**_ **, I want to see** _ **feedback**_ **and** _ **opinions**_ **on each story I write to improve. Please, my dear readers, do not do that, and if you don't please discourage that behavior. I'm pretty certain no writer likes when people do that, and I don't need to be writing for certain selfish people.**

 **And with that, on with the chapter.**

* * *

The dragons had seen big trees before, but never _this_ big.

Blueberry led them to a grove within the jungle that consisted mostly of _ceiba_ trees, big enough to house a great colony of colorful Skybiters. Their nests, similar to that of birds, were built in the upper branches, a few even had eggs in it. Blueberry warned them, Hookfang especially, not to use any fire here or they could start a fire, and if they did, they'd be black-listed.

However, the were the center of attention as soon as they arrived. The Skybiters whispered amongst each other in their native language, others stared at the 'naked' dragons; a few hatchlings who were too curious by their own good were held back by their mothers.

Eventually they came to a clearing that houses the tallest _ceiba_ in the area; its branches were filled with more bird-like nests.

" **My nest is up there** ," Blueberry explained. " **I hope nobody's claimed it** …"

" **Cool, but where are** _ **we**_ **going to sleep?** " Hookfang inquired. " **I don't know if you've noticed, but sometimes when I sleep I lit myself.** "

" **Perhaps your humans will negotiate that with Nora's father** ," Blueberry explained.

" **Morazul**?" suddenly, a female Skybiter with pretty curves and canary yellow plumage landed a few feet from Blueberry with raised ears. "Morazul!"

"Lima!" Blueberry said with a joyful chirp. Both dragons walked closer a few inches, and then both started nibbling on each other's back. It was a sort of greeting among the Skybiters, he had explained earlier.

Soon after, many other Skybiters landed near Blueberry and proceeded to greet him too in excitement.

The Berk dragons didn't move from their spot for a few minutes, instead looking around and awing at the scenery. The war-painted Skybiters had landed on a nearby _ceiba_ and were looking down at them apprehensively.

" **So, what do we do?** " Stormfly wondered.

Meatlug jumped when she felt something brushing her leg and took some alarmed steps back. A young Skybiter, much more younger than the ones they had seen, had nibbled her leg. Unlike the adult Skybiters, this one's pinkish white skin was still featherless in the tail and some areas in his legs. Even his wings seemed like they lacked some flight feathers.

" **You're weird** ," he said outright, looking at Meatlug like she were a freak. " **You're naked and fat**."

Uh, oh. He had said _the_ word.

" _ **Fat**_ **?!** " Meatlug snarled, but Hookfang jumped in front of her before she could pounce at the young feathered dragon.

" **Tseze**!" a female Skybiter, this one older and with full-body sky blue plumage suddenly came running, snarling at her offspring. " **Te dije que no te acercaras a los extraños**!"

" **We don't mean to cause any trouble** ," Barf stated. " **We're just here while out humans figure out what to do**."

" **Though you should teach your kid some manners**!" Belch muttered. " **You don't call Meatlug with the 'f' word!** "

Unfortunately, the female Skybiter had no idea of what they were saying. She just exchanged her glance between Barf and Belch's two heads in shock before she picked her protesting fledgling by the neck and carried him away.

Goblin took a look around, and spotted many of the Skybiters they had brought back had reunited with their own kin. Indeed, there was an air of excitement and relief in the air.

Blueberry managed to go back to the group, followed closely by Lima, though she was staring at the Berk dragons oddly. " **Que son ellos** …?" she inquired.

" **Son amigos** ," Blueberry explained. " **Nos ayudaron a mi, Nora y a los demás a volver**."

Whatever he said, it got Lima on a better mood. " **Well, any friend of yours is a friend of mine**!" she trotted over to them, wagging her tail. " **My name is Lima! Who are you**?"

" **I'm Stormfly** ," Stormfly said politely and then pointed to her friends respectively. " **These are Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch and Goblin.** "

" **There's one more, but he's with our humans** ," Goblin added. " **He's flightless**."

" **Well, guys, do you know how to dance**?"

Hookfang tilted his head. " **Dance? What's with the question?** "

Before Lima or Blueberry could explain properly, a sound that seemed to be music started. Some Skybiters had short, thick sticks in their maws and were rhythmically bending them in unison to create the 'music'.

" **The tribal dance is about to begin**!" Lima said in excitement. " **It's to celebrate the return of those we thought lost forever! Come along**!" She jumped behind Goblin and started pushing him forward excitedly. Soon all the Skybiters-Blueberry included were in the air, so they had no choice but to join in even though they had no idea of what they were doing.

 _ **Ya vengan todos, a cantar en harmonía**_

 _ **Tan diferentes pero no en el corazón**_

 _ **Bellos colores a donde llega la vista**_

 _ **Oye el llamado y tus alas abre ya**_

The Skybiters painted their faces and the tips of their tails and wings; males used juice from blue or red berries, while females used pollen from pink or yellow flowers. Blueberry used red paint on himself while Lima used pink. The Berk dragons looked reluctant to do it, except for Meatlug, who eagerly rolled on top of some flowers and was soon turned into a big painting canvas of pink and yellow.

The dance consisted mainly on finding a dancing partner and then doing what seemed to be acrobatic movements in the air with each other, all in rhythm with the music, which now included the drum-like sound of tails hitting hollowed trees in the ground. Blueberry was dancing with Lima.

After watching for a few more minutes, the Berk dragons tried to join in, but a few troubles arose. For starters, somehow the dancing Skybiters managed to keep them 'out' of the circle, perhaps because they didn't trust them. It didn't stop Meatlug, though, who started doing her own circles in a much slower pace.

" **OW**!" Hookfang nearly fell when a Skybiter's talon accidentally came into contact with the back of his head. " **Look were you're going**!" he snapped, but the target had long disappeared between the festival of dancing colors.

" **Well, how about we have our own dance**?" Stormfly suggested playfully, and she dragged Hookfang away by the talon. Goblin likewise joined Meatlug, though his own movements were much more fluid and in rhythm.

 _ **Vengan a celebrar**_

 _ **A bailar y a reír**_

 _ **Sigueme al cantar**_

 _ **Lah lah bah bah boom boom**_

Blueberry had missed this. It had been a while since he partook in this dance and after being stuck in a cage and away from Nora he was enjoying himself. Over all, he was happy to be reunited with Lima.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Lima playfully flew over him and struck his head with her tail. He flew after her to get revenge but as he caught up, he had forgotten about it and had gone back to the dance.

 _ **A celebrar, somos hermosas criaturas**_

 _ **Bailar, cantar abriendo libre tus alas**_

 _ **Lah lah lah lah hoo hoo**_

 _ **Nuestra familia en la jungla**_

 _ **Lah lah lah lah hoo hoo**_

By then the whole flock had gathered in the center of the forest and had formed a sort of formation with the shape of a blossoming flower which seemed to come to life with the dancing Skybiters and the flurry of colors that came along with it.

 _ **Vengan hermosas criaturas**_

The dance finished with many of the Skybiters sending flower petals into the air and scattering them with their wing beats, which then erupted into cheers. The Berk dragons had landed on a nearby-and unoccupied-tree to recover their breath, and watched the scene unfold. These guys were surely lively.

Hookfang commented. "I don't know what Toothless is doing, but he surely missed quite the party."

* * *

Right now the group wished the dragons were there.

The long climb up the stairs was so long that halfway there they were already struggling to catch their breath and their pace slowed down, while Nora, her father and Semeel Jak walked up without any trouble at all. After what seemed like hours, they finally arrived at the top. Well, almost everybody.

"Why am I carrying you again?" Tuffnut groaned, struggling to keep up with his sister on his back.

"I told you, the next time we discover a new civilization and have to climb a thousand steps _I_ will carry _you_." Ruffnut merely said.

"Almost… There…" Snotlout managed to pull himself into the final step, panting heavily after having lost about fie liters of sweat. "Why don't these guys have an elevator?!"

Even Hiccup and Astrid were so tired they didn't even bother to tell him to save his commentaries. Toothless didn't seem to have tired himself out that much, though he did wish for some cool water.

The _Kuhul_ invited the group inside, much to their relief. If the architecture of the city was astounding, the accomodations were even better. The limestone walls were painted in bright red tones and had equally colorful murals depicting the jungle, Skybiters and many other unknown feathered dragons, the most prominent was the painting of the golden wing in the ceiling.

There were more people present, all of them clad in the luxuries of nobility, a woman and a boy a few years younger than Nora accompanied by soldiers clad in eagle-like clothing (eagle warriors, as Nora would explain later). The woman and the boy rushed to Nora and embraced her tightly.

The seats were surprisingly soft, made of patterned silk and filled with cotton and Skybiter down feathers. It was so comfortable Snotlout was tempted to fall asleep as soon as he plopped unto it, but was abruptly awoken by a kick from Astrid. The Vikings sat on one side, and the Kuhul on the other with his family. The titan wing Skybiter lay down lazily on a carpet with lots of cushions apparently put for him specifically. Toothless lay down near Hiccup.

The group proceeded to explain where they came from, how they found Blueberry and then Nora, then decided to accompany her back home to make sure she arrive safely.

"Once again I thank thee for bringing my daughter back," the Kuhul said with a nod "You're free to stay as long as necessary. If there's anything I can help you with, just ask."

"Can I take a look at your titan wing Skybiter?" Fishlegs chirped without thinking.

"Fishlegs!" Astrid scolded.

The _Kuhul_ seemed surprised by the request. "Titan wing?"

Right. He probably wasn't familiarized with the terms they used. "Titan wing is a dragon in a stage of its life where it has become larger, stronger and with certain characteristics a normal dragon wouldn't have."

"I see," the _Kuhul_ glanced at his dragon and made a guttural sound similar to a low growl. The golden Skybiter perked up its ears, stood up and walked closer though it seemed annoyed at being made to move. The Kuhul looked at Fishlegs again. "You may examine him, but do _not_ touch him." he warned.

Fishlegs squealed in delight and five seconds later he was sketching the golden Skybiter in the Book of Dragons.

" _Kuhul_ , that priest referred to my dragon as a… camazot-something." Hiccup stated. "What did he mean?"

This time it was the _kuhul_ 's wife who explained. " _Camazotl_ , the offspring of the bat god _Camazotz_ ," she said eyeing Toothless warily. "Harbringers of night, death and sacrifice."

"At least they have something in common with Night Furies…" Snotlout muttered.

"Wait, you mean you've seen more like him?" There was a hopeful air in the question.

"No one has ever seen a Camazotl and lived to tell the tale," Kuhul responded. "What little information we have comes from the _Popol Vuh_."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut snickered. "That sounded like poop,"

"Maybe it's some kind of poop?"

"Then it should be called poopool vuh."

Heather decided to change the subject before the Kuhul figured out what that meant. "Nora mentioned someone has been robbing Skybiters of their habitat. Have you seen dragon hunters around?"

There was an uncomfortable silence afterwards. Nora stood up and led her younger brother away, despite his protests of being a 'man now'. Once his children were gone, the Kuhul spoke. "A few months ago strangers arrived. They wore clothing like yours, but they arrived in great canoes from the great waters, and their dragons were in chains and cages. They raged through the jungle when they came upon the Skybiters, and have been hunting them down ever since."

"Even the great _Ala Dorada_ is in risk because of those strangers." The woman added.

"You mean the big golden dragon that looks like a giant eagle?" Astrid inquired.

"You've seen one?" the wife looked surprised.

"Oh, we certainly saw one when he nearly killed us!" Snotlout said yelling and waving up his arms. "Just ask Fishface over there, he was nearly taken!"

The _kuhul_ and his wife stared at Fishlegs with both surprise and awe, at least the others thought they were awed. Fishlegs momentarily interrupted his examination when he noted the glances. "Is something wrong?"

"Whoever is snatched by the _ala dorada_ possesses a great spiritual power," The _kuhul_ stated firmly. "Legend says that when an _ala dorada_ snatches a person in its claws, the gods have something in store for the."

"Which gods are we talking about again?" Tuffnut asked. "I mean, Nora said it's supposed to be a messenger, but for which gods? There's _our_ gods, and _your_ gods."

"Or is it a messenger for _all_ gods?" Ruffnut added. "Like a direct line?"

"Do not take the will of the gods as a game, twins." Semeel Jak said sternly.

"In which area have you seen those strangers?" Hiccup asked. "We could help you. We've dealt with dragon hunters before, and from what Nora said, Skybiters will not survive in cold climates."

The _Kuhul_ nodded. "Seemel Jak shall give you more information about that issue later," he motioned to the jaguar warrior, who bowed in agreement. "But for now just relax. You've had a long journey and you'll need your strength for tonight's celebration."

One of the lesser-dressed people came in and bowed as he offered gold cups to the Kuhul and his wife. "What's that?" Heather inquired.

"It's a sacred cocoa drink," the Kuhul explained as he took a sip. "Usually it is reserved only for the nobles, but given the circumstances…" he motioned to the servant, who bowed quickly and left.

" _Mi señor_ , I'm not sure if it's a good idea," Seemel Jak stated. "Outsiders might not have the palate to bear the taste…"

"Come on, we've tasted worst things, so bring it on!" Snotlout cried out. The others were wise enough not to go into details with _that_ , especially when Astrid gave him an annoyed glare.

A few seconds later more ceramic glasses with the famous drink were brought and handed out to the Vikings. Toothless sniffed it; his nose wrinkled when he felt a very spicy smell that made his nostrils itch. Sadly, the humans didn't heed that warning and tasted it.

They instantly regretted it.


	11. Eclipse

**Okay, I know it's been _months_ since I updated, but I've been trying to see in which direction this story is going, and my HTTYD mode has been a bit... inactive. Hopefully the new trailer for the Hidden World has helped out a little bit.**

 **This chapter is going to be shorter, but it will mostly focus on Pearl and the introduction of a particular... Well, you'll see.**

 **Without any further ado, enjoy!**

* * *

 _Dragon's Edge_ felt… different since Hiccup and the others left.

Without Hiccup in his workshop building new inventions, or the twins making one of their disastrous pranks or Astrid and Heather practicing axe-fighting with each other it almost felt like a different island.

Not to mention it was a bit more populated with the Berk warriors, the defenders of the wing and the kids.

The dragons' kids, that is.

Their mothers (or fathers, in Stormfly and Meatlug's case) and the rest of their siblings had caught up, and more than agreed with the punishment Stormfly, Hookfang and Goblin had given the children for both disobeying and endangering themselves in such a reckless manner.

Of course, Pearl disagreed. If their parents had brought them when they asked in the first place, they wouldn't have had to follow them in secret. Sadly she was the only one who thought this way, her brothers did think they went too far this time. If it hadn't been Sleuther who found them, it if had been a wild dragon, or worse, a hunter…

Still, it wasn't that bad. After a few days they were allowed to roam out of the stables, though still pretty much forbidden from leaving the island at all without being accompanied by an adult. And once again, neither minded the punishment (except for Pearl, of course).

Besides, many of the dragons that resided there had interesting stories to tell about their parents, and the young dragons were very eager to learn of their adventures, given they didn't see them that much these days.

The most interesting dragons were three: Sleuther the Triple Stryke, Garff the Deathsong and Windshear the Razorwhip. The first lived in the Edge and acted as a sort of guardian, while the latter two lived in other islands but often stopped by.

" **And that's how Toothless spared my life** ," Sleuther said. " **Then the others arrived, releasing me and the other dragons from that wretched life**."

" **So you were a champion dragon?** " Grapefang asked. " **Cool!** "

" **I wouldn't call it cool. It was wrong, you should never take a life for entertainment of others, but in that place you're so busy thinking about yourself you never stop to think about it. You just wish to stop the torture…** " Sleuther sighed. "I' **m not sure I'll ever get over it.** "

" **Couldn't you have just killed them all? I mean, humans are puny compared to dragons, you could have dispatched them.** " Windslicer pointed out.

" **Indeed, I could have, but would that have made me better than them? Besides, if you grow up in such an environment you become so afraid of humans you see them as a bigger threat than they actually are**."

" **Tell that to me…** " Windshear said bitterly, laying her head on her paws.

" **What about you, Windshear?** " Kyra asked, wagging her tail a bit. " **From where do you know my dad?** "

At that, Windshear chuckled a bit. " **You could say he's also** _ **my**_ **dad in a way.** "

" **What do you mean?** " Syrilth inquired, narrowing his eyes a bit.

" **They were visiting the wing-maiden island during the time my clutch hatched, and we were to pick a wing-maiden to bond with. However, instead I ran to papa and 'picked' him**." She explained, referring to Goblin as 'papa', much to Pearl's chagrin. " **The next following days I followed him around and he somehow managed to keep me in line even though I was very naughty.** "

" **Interesting, he never mentioned we had an adoptive sister**." Lightingbolt commented.

" **He was never around much, anyway, maybe that's why**." Pearl pointed out bitterly.

" **Would you get over it, Pearl?** " Kyra snapped. " **I mean, you're always looking for the tiniest excuse to complain about dad! What's gotten into you lately?!** "

" **Perhaps the hormones are finally getting to her…** " Kyroc muttered

" **What do you know?! You're not even Skrills**!"

" **Pearl, that's enough**!" Quinart bared her teeth at her daughter as a warning.

" **Oh, please, Syrilth and I are Skrills too and we do not show any signs of being reckless, sharp-tongued or aggressive**." Lightingbolt pointed out.

" **That's because you're weaklings, you're always kissing everybody's scales!** "

That shredded what little patience Quinarth had. " **That's it, Pearl! You go into the stable and you're not coming out for the rest of the day!** " she snarled with bristled spines.

Pearl didn't really care and merely walked away, prompting Windshear to continue with her tale.

Pearl didn't know why, but lately she couldn't bear to be around anybody anymore. It irked her endlessly, as well as the fact her only Skrill brothers didn't share this sensation. It felt like she was becoming the black sheep of the family and nobody even cared.

Screw the stables! She was almost an adult, she didn't have to listen to what mama said anymore, right? With that in mind, Pearl made sure to she was out of sight before taking off unto the sky.

She didn't have a particular destination in mind, she merely wanted to get away from it all? It wasn't like anyone would notice she was missing, right? They were too busy having fun when she wasn't around, which irritated her even more.

Many islands were already occupied by wild dragon packs, most of them consisting of the common species around here. Nadders, Gronckles, Nightmares, and all of them were unsurprisingly hostile to foreigners like her; islands with enough resources and without dragon hunters lurking around were very rare, after all.

Eventually she did find an island that seemed to be unoccupied. It was almost as big as _Dragon's Edge_ without the cabins, overpopulation of humans and with lots of animals. Too bad there were no sheep, Pearl preferred mutton, one of the things she _did_ have in common with most of her clutch.

Pearl spotted a wild boar drinking from a nearby creek. Her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten anything yet. Pearl lowered herself into the bushes and slowly crept towards it, making sure not to step on any twigs or anything that could alert it to her presence. It lifted its head a few times to look around, but it didn't seem to notice her as it went back to drinking.

In a blur, Pearl flew out of the bushes with her talons outstretched. But the boar was out of reach and her talons closed into thin air as the animal fled. Pearl wouldn't give up on her meal, however. She flew after it, dodging trees and rock formations as it ran from her.

When they came to a clearing a larger black blur descended from the sky and took down the shrieking boar. Before Pearl could react she was pinned to the ground by an unknown assailant, who held her down by the neck. As she stared at her stolen prize, she recognized the dragon that ended its life with a sharp bite.

It was a Skrill just like her. His scales were a deep shade of black with no sign of other colors except for a few purple highlights on the tip of his wings.

" **What do we have here?** " the dragon on top of her hissed. It was probably another Skrill, right? Ah, the disadvantage of having such a short neck and your eyes too close to your nose was that you couldn't look backwards if the former was held down.

They were soon joined by more Skrills, to Pearl's surprise. She didn't know there were more Skrills around in the archipelago. She counted the black one, the one on top of her and those three that just arrived. Five. They all seemed to be males.

" **What's such a youngster doing around here?** " a Skrill with lavender scales and silver highlighting, notably the youngest of the group, asked.

" **Who cares? The point is he came into our territory and tried to take our food**!" the one on top of her snarled.

The second Skrill with aqua green scales and whitish underbelly sighed. " **It's just a boar, Twilight**. **We're not starving for someone taking a boar.** "

" **Hey, Eclipse, what do we do with him?** " the third Skrill-this one's coloration were reminiscent of a titan gronckle's colors- asked the black one.

" **Let go of me!** " Pearl snapped, flailing around in a futile attempt to knock her assailant off her. The Skrills gave her surprised looks.

" **Oh. She's a female…** "

The leader spoke up. " **Twilight, let her go**."

" **What? But-** "

" _ **Now**_."

Pearl crawled out from underneath her captor as soon as she felt his talon lifting off her; she probably knocked him off balance, but she didn't really care. To her surprise, this one looked almost like her father, but younger and evidently reckless, something dad lacked completely.

" **Sorry for the… unpleasant approach, miss…** " The black Skrill (his name was Eclipse, right?) started, but didn't finish the sentence. She guessed it was a cue for her to introduce herself.

" **Pearl**." she said warily. The rational part in her brain was telling her to run, but she ignored it. She had never been around other Skrills that were not related to her before. Although it pained her to do so, she begrudingly said. " **Sorry for interrupting in your territory**."

" **It's not like Eclipse marks it very often either…** " the lavender skrill muttered only to receive a whack in the head from the green one.

" **Pearl… It fits you** ," Eclipse said after stepping closer-though not enough to be considered an intimate approach-and took a look at her pearlish gray white scales. " **You do look like a pearl**."

Pearl swore that if dragons could blush like she had seen Fishlegs blush when around Heather sometimes, right then she would be as red as a tomato. " **T-Thanks…** "

" **Oh, sorry, where are my manners?** " Eclipse did a small gesture that could be interpreted as a 'gentlemanly bow'. " **My name is Eclipse, and this is the rest of my pack,** " he gestured to the other Skrills. " **Windcutter, Thunderfang, Ashwing and Twilight**." His tail pointed at the lavender, green, titan wing gronckle-colored and dad's younger look-alike respectively.

" **Nice to meet you, miss**!" Windcutter gave a toothy grin and approached her a bit too much. Thunderfang rolled his eyes and pushed him away. " **Please excuse him, he doesn't know how to contain his excitement**."

" **It's not like we can find a girl of our kind nearby these days!** " Thunderfang protested.

" **Where are you from, Pearl?** "

" **I'm…** " Pearl hesitated for a few seconds. How would they react if they learned she was half-tamed? " **I've been roaming around the archipelago for some time now with my… flight! I needed to vent off for a while, and then I got hungry…** "

Eclipse looked doubtful, but he stepped aside from the boat. " **In that case, be my guest, Pearl. I've already gotten some mutton, anyway**." Where did he get mutton? Sheep weren't found in the wild at all. He must have stolen it from a village or something.

While eating the boar she got to know this flight a little better, and learned a bit of her own species' culture on the way. This was a bachelor group: male, mateless Skrills of different ages that came together to make survival easier. Usually they only left the group when they finally found a female to mate with. Eclipse was the leader, or alpha, of this group in particular because he was the oldest and with the most experience. Pearl estimated he must be about dad's age, maybe a bit younger.

" **So where is your flight staying?** " Ashwing inquired curiously, taking a small piece of wild boar leftover.

" **In an island nearby**."

" **Is it very big? If you need to 'vent off' by yourself, it usually means your herd is so big it can drive you nuts sometimes**."

" **You could say so. I still live with my mother and clutchmates, but sometimes we don't… get along**."

" **Ah, the weaning process. I still remember when my parents started snapping at me**." Twilight chuckled. " **They literally had to chase me out of the nest to have their new clutch**."

" **Weaning process?** " Pearl asked curiously. " **That's a mammalian thing, isn't it?** "

" **It depends on the species, actually. Weaning in dragons doesn't mean stop surviving off mommy's milk** ," Ashwing explained. " **It means that you're getting older and you start putting distance with your progenitors to prepare to fend for yourself. Has your mom started snapping at you and you're arguing more often than ever before?** "

The story of her life. " **You have no idea.** " Pearl snorted.

" **It's a sign that you're growing independent. It can grow… nastier in Skrills, however, since we are a bit more explosive than other dragons such as Nadders or even Monstrous Nightmares**."

" **Yeah, tell me. I've had to deal with both for most of my life**."

" **That's curious,** " Eclipse spoke up, raising an eyebrow. " **Skrill couples don't tend to socialize with other dragon classes in breeding colonies. They usually claim a part of territory as their own to raise their offspring in solitude**."

Shit. " **Well, mine are unusually… open minded**."

" **I see..**." Eclipse didn't seem convinced, but he didn't seem to suspect anything either. " **I guess you're not going back to your flight for a while, then, will you?** "

" **I don't think I will. We had a particularly heated argue, and frankly I'm not in the mood to get reprimanded for leaving while being grounded.** " She could already hear her mother's reprimands and her brothers' making fun of it.

" **Why don't you stay, then?** " Thunderfang blurted out without thinking.

Eclipse frowned at him. "I **n case you forgot, Thunderfang, _I_ am the leader here.** "

" **Come on, Eclipse, I didn't mean it like _that_. I'm just saying a young lady shouldn't be by herself around these parts.** "

Windcutter added. " **He has a point. There are many rogue dragons lately, and now that the Night Fury and his group have apparently gone... missing, It's even worse. Remember the Changewing attack?** " Pearl lifted her head. They know about Toothless?

" **Don't remind me, I think I still have the acid marks on my rear...** " Twilight muttered.

Pearl felt a shiver run down her spine when Eclipse looked at her. " **If you wish, you could stay for a few days until you... cool down, miss Pearl.** " She noted how Ashwing perked up his head, bristling his spine crown. She had seen Lightingbolt do this when something caught his interest.

Pearl couldn't help but feel... intrigued by the offer. It was the first time she had been around actual Skrills. Lightingbolt and Syrilth wouldn't really sound since they didn't behave as such, and dad didn't spend much time around anymore. Perhaps he was aware of the weaning process and was letting them grow independent?

Well, she was certain she wouldn't be missed if she didn't go back for a few days. It was a good chance to get to know how her own kind properly behaved.

" **I would love to... Eclipse.** "

* * *

 **Looks like Pearl has found new friends, who would have thought? Those Skrills will get an important role later on, but no spoilers!**


End file.
